A Grounded View
by tHat'N'Clogs
Summary: So he was a little sociopathic, and a touch clinically insane, and had a tiny, itty bitty little problem of Split personality disorder. Pokemon would understand, the gang would all be traveling together, what could POSSIBLY go wrong? (Rated T for violence)
1. Chapter 1

Slowly waking up to the sound of rustling leaves (as always these days), a young child of ten and a half with dirty red hair began to stir on the first day of the next chapter in his life. One of adventure and _absol-utely no_ puns or cliches. What could possibly go wrong, hmm?

Time to find out.

As the boy woke up, he realized that he still had almost an hour 'till had to get up and run to Professor Oak's today. He didn't want to get up, but something was nagging him to get up in the back of his mind. _What is today…? Oh._ OH. He smiled softly, almost dreaming about how many strategies there were based on exactly which starter he hoped for, already beginning to analyze the validity of each in their own right, trying to find combinations and solutions to possible counters.

After realizing that I'd wasted a good twenty minutes thinking about what I _could_ do, I wanted to get up and reach the Professor's lab as early as possible.

After getting dressed, eating and triple checking that I had all of my supplies packed, I saw that there were another ten minutes until I had to be there. Figuring that I had nothing to lose by waiting in front of his lab instead of at the house, I began the short walk there at a relaxed pace.

Once I reached the lab, I remembered my mistake and very _thoroughly_ regretted my decision to get here early. Gary and Ash were bickering, poor Ash couldn't even respond intelligently to the horde of insults, and Leaf was looking like she wanted to tear her hair out listening to the onslaught.

Acting calmly, I slipped past Ash and Gary's notice, Gary was too into coming up with every way in the book to rile up "Ashy boy" and Ash was… being Ash I suppose. He wasn't all that smart, but he was emotional enough that he could probably train pokemon decently enough.

 _Too bad._ He thought. Gary would be good, certainly, and Ash would be okay, but they could be so much _more_ if they would only focus on the potential of what they could do.

Leaf shook him out of his reverie when she poked him and incredulously asked, "How can you stand there and not wither and die about how sad this is?"

"I don't care about what they do right now" I replied with barely concealed excitement.

"Of course you don't" She grumbled, looking at the doors to the lab. "When is he gonna be here anyway? It feels like we've been waiting for _ever._ "

As if on cue, the doors creaked open as the Professor walked out, a small smile on his face that morphed into a sigh as he beheld Gary and Ash. "Now now Gary, this is no time to be mean. Today is the day that you all start your journeys!"

Now sporting matching wild grins, Ash and Gary rushed in, pushing and shoving their way along.

Leaf walked behind them, sighing in defeat, and I trailed behind, not feeling like talking. I made sure to school my features, not betraying anything or giving any weakness to be exploited, just like the type I was going to train.

While the other three accepted their starters, with Ash choosing Charmander, Gary Squirtle, and Leaf Bulbasaur, _as expected,_ my mind whispered, I walked over to Professor Oak, his eye gleaming, and with a quiet flourish, he pulled out a pokeball. "Thank you Professor" I said quietly.

"It's no problem Testa, now, would any of you four like to nickname your pokemon? You should also probably let them out and get to know them instead of gawking at the pokeballs." He said with no small amount of mirth.

Ash was the first to get over his awe and let out his pokemon, a bright red Charmander who looked to be quite excited.

"Hi there Charmander! Would you like to be my friend? We could be the strongest in the region, my goal is to be a pokemon master!" Ash would be Ash, straight to the point at least.

Charmander seemed to fit Ash if his toothy little grin and excited-was he dancing?- erm, _actions_ were anything to go by.

In the meantime, Gary had already let out his Squirtle and they were both smirking confidently at each other, nodding to one another as they quietly communicated, Leaf was sitting on the floor, gently petting Bulbasaur and murmuring quietly to it, so I decided to finally let out the pokemon in the ball.

As the light faded, Gary looked on in confusion and began to laugh, Leaf didn't seem to know what it was and, Ash was, well, "Oh awesome! What kind of pokemon is that?" Yep, still being Ash.

"This is a Gligar," Professor Oak seamlessly went from nostalgic old man to teacher in the blink of an eye, "a ground and flying type pokemon from the Johto region."

"Yeah, and it'll go down to a little water gun too! Of all three starters, we have the best matchup against it."

"That's theory Gary. In theory, theory and practice are the same of course. In practice, they are not." I let a small smirk slide across my face, "Or have you forgotten who beat you in every calss simulation?"

Gary went a bit red, and I sighed internally when he didn't realize I'd actually given him an opening in what I said-that being that even though the simulations were as realistic as possible, they were still just that. _Simulations_ (and therefore still technically theory). He was too wrapped up in his own perfect bubble being burst, as was expected.

"Hello Gligar," I said quietly as I crouched down, "Do you want to join me and be a ground type master?"

The response I got was interesting, considering he tilted his head and seemed to be sizing me up, almost a challenging gaze staring straight into my eyes, piercing into the depths of what _defines_ me. I met it with an impassive stare of my own, and after a moment that seemed to stretch into hours, Gligar broke the gaze with a small grunt and nodded, apparently satisfied in his assessment.

"It seems like Gligar approves of how well _grounded_ you are today Testa. And before I forget, here are your pokedexes, when you scan your pokemon you can view their current moves and moves they can have the potential to learn as well as _much_ more, now who's giving nicknames?"

After the four of us finished groaning at the pun, Ash decided to not nickname Charmander, Gary didn't nickname Squirtle, Leaf actually did nickname her Bulbasaur, choosing Herba as his name, and I, after _far_ too much time in deliberation (and both scanning Gligar and getting his approval), chose Sting.

"What kind of name is Sting? You might as well just call him 'Poison Sting' at that point."

Not one to take insults to others lightly, I snarked back. "And maybe you'll figure out why his name is Sting when you know what Gligar can do in battle, as your poor Squirtle goes down that is."

"Wanna _Testa_ that one?" He smirked arrogantly.

"Sure. The only questions that remain are when and where," I said a bit haughtily _I hate that pun_ , I growled mentally, turning towards the older Oak to ask, "Any ideas Professor?"

"If you must, there is a courtyard right in the back." He sighed good naturedly. _As I'm sure you know Testa._ His dry smile and look seemed to convey.

"In that case, let's go right now! You should be the ref Gramps." Gary _nearly_ yelled, but I could tell he was being a bit quieter since there was a decent echo within the lab.

As we walked-or waddled, in Gligar's case-outside, I could see Ash grinning and asking Professor Oak what Gligar could do, Gary was running up in front of all of us, Leaf was hanging back a bit and talking to Herba, and suddenly I realized that _ASH_ of all people was making the right choice, but the sign of the end of the world was not my concern at that moment. There was a battle to win.

Grinning with a thirst for blood (or victory, whichever,) I told murmured quietly to Gligar, trusting his large ears to catch what I said. By the end, our matching grins were visibly unnerving Gary and Squirtle.

Now all we had to do was wait for Professor Oak to-"Begin!"

"Now Sting!" I shouted dramatically flaring out my arm in front of me, drawing everybody's attention for a second.

It was all he needed.

Before Squirtle could react, Gligar was to the left of him with Quick Attack and both clamped onto Squirtle's tail and with just a little difficulty, flipped his tail around to use poison sting into the turtle's arm. If he didn't have armor there, it was a huge weakness to be exploited. Falling back, Sting rushed towards the tree overhead to escape Squirtle's superior defenses potentially slamming into him and becoming tough offense. I knew that Sting wouldn't win in a straight fight, but who told anyone that fights had to be won fairly?

"Squirtle! After 'em with Water Gun!" It was also good for riling Gary up and seeing him make the worst decision he could make. Having Squirtle strain his body to catch up with Sting as the poison from his arm began to course through his body.

After only one or two shots of water while Squirtle ran, it was clear he couldn't aim while moving. At this point it was only a matter of time bef- "Stand still and use Water Gun, aim for the top of the tree!"

Wondering at what Gary was trying to pull off, I simply frowned and watched for a bit, not able to form a counter without realizing what was happening.

"Now spray the whole trunk!"

Why would he get the tree wet? It would… oh. Alright, so he wanted Sting to slip down.

"Sting, change of plans." I called out, "Time to glide to victory, harden first to toughen your claws."

There was no better satisfaction that whole day that seeing Gary's face contort into confusion and _instantly_ transform into horrified realization once he saw Sting silently glide right above Squirtle and take the tired blue turtle down in one swipe of his claw, catching it in the head and causing the tired water type to topple over into unconsciousness.

"Still sure you want to test that theory Gary?" I asked with a bloodthirsty grin splitting my face in two. Seeing his face turn that shade of red was just the cherry on top, spurring me on. "Maybe you should-"

"Now now, Testa that seems to be enough" The Professor cut in. "Gary, let this be a lesson not to insult everything you see. Perhaps you could evaluate things for what they can do before looking down upon them." He said disapprovingly. "And Testa," I turned my head with a sheepish grin on my face. "Even if you get into the heat of the moment, don't go too deep okay? A little grinning and taunting is fine. But nothing more, you hear me?"

"Yes Professor."

"Yeah, alright Gramps,"

We both said a little sullenly,

Realizing he was still gliding around, I called Sting over. "Good job there Sting. I figure with battling like that, they don't stand a chance!" seeing him grin delightedly, I grinned myself and we walk back to the lab to heal up Sting and Squirtle.

 _In all honesty, I should've seen that coming,_ I thought to myself, _If that were a stronger pokemon firing water into the tree, that strategy would have done jack._ I frowned, knowing from Gligar's moveset that while he could learn quite a few moves, from what I recalled none would really help at long range, which was a big problem since Sting was unable to fly, only glide. And if the enemy was faster and had any form of ranged attack, well, that was the battle.

Writing myself a note in the pokedex, I quickly shut it and asked Sting if he wanted to be recalled now that we were back to the lab. He looked a little tired from all the walking, since he hadn't taken any damage in the fight.

He shook his head and yawned, quickly clinging to my pants and hauling himself up to lay around my shoulders, and while the weight was a bit awkward, he wasn't that _light_ either. As Gary began laughing at my buckling knees, I got a bit… frustrated with Gary and put Sting on Gary's head with a loud heave.

Sting was not happy with this development, and in quick succession promptly clamped on Gary's nose, hopped off of his head and onto my shoulders again. Considering that he weighed more than one hundred pounds, I'd say I was doing pretty good. Collapsing on the floor was fine because Sting was _not_ getting up.

Realizing there was nothing I could do, I smiled lightly decided to simply wait, because apparently, I could relax knowing we were in this together.

After getting bored and sliding over to lean against one of the walls, I apparently dozed off.

I knew this because when I groggily opened my eyes there was a heavy Gligar on my head, lightly poking my face and Leaf sitting in front of me, probably waiting for me to get up.

"Ye-" Coughing dryly, I slowly pulled myself up as Sting slid off my head, "-es?"

"You've been asleep for almost an hour," She murmured with a small smile that grew as she said, "Ash and Gary ate all of your food from lunch."

After taking a second for my groggy mind to catch up, I realized two things. One, my stomach was growling for food. I _also_ realized that Leaf had probably missed lunch herself to watch over me. When I vocalized this, she laughed it away and said that we could have lunch right now at the Diner.

"Sure, I'm paying this time though, this one is my fault." I never liked it when someone else gave something up for me to have it, it never felt right.

Seeming to sense my slight melancholy mood, Sting grunted at me and I shook myself out of my reverie. "Thanks Sting, I needed that." I said with a thin smile that morphed into a small grin, "Now how about we grab some food?"

With seeing Sting, Leaf and Herba all cheer, I felt my heart lift a little, a wave of gratitude was there too, "Thanks for staying by me, Leaf." I said quietly.

"I'd rather not be the one to deal with Gary being a sore loser again you know," she said dryly, "it's really no fun for anyone."

I came _this_ close to saying 'except me,' but I held back since that might make me seem a bit callous. Instead I brought up what moves Herba knows, and what Leaf plans to do as a trainer.

"Hmm, well Herba knows vine whip, poison powder, tackle, and has grassy terrain from a parent, since it can't normally learn it. Beyond being good, I really don't know what I want to do as a trainer. Maybe I'll figure it out later."

I shrugged, "Give it some time, it'll work out."

I thought I heard her mumble something about 'the wrong person' but beyond that I couldn't hear anything specific, so I let it drop. Sting's snickering like a jester was odd and distracting, but nothing serious as he waddled along beside me.

"So what would you like to do? You always were the quiet kid in class," She asked, curious as a meowth.

Leaping to the topic like a buneary, I quickly got deep into a spiel about how I wanted to train ground types, "And no one thinks about them, but they have the power to change everything around us, even though other pokemon _can_ change the landscape, none have the fluid control over the _earth itself_ as ground types, like Giovanni's Rhydon and Dugtrio, oh they can do amazing things! Based on the weight of the challenger and how the ground is pressed down by that weight, they can cause the dirt to collapse around the opponent, or if the challenger is too light they can choose to cripple their speed by making the whole field into a jagged mess that _seems_ solid but can also collapse at the will of the pokemon manipulating it." Coughing embarrassedly, I calmed down quite a bit after hearing my own voice rise and tried to bring my face back to a mostly blank slate.

If the snickering loud enough to sound like a bunch of sand falling into a palm from Sting was any indicator, I might not have done that very well.

As we walked up to the diner, in the southeast of Pallet and only about 50 yards away from Oak's lab, a twinge of regret flashed across my face as I realized I wouldn't be back here for the same lunch that I had everyday. _I'll be back here to visit, it'll be fine_. I reassured myself quickly. _It's Pallet town, what could possibly go wrong?_

Sufficiently relaxed, I quickly returned Sting and walked through the doorway, a grin snaking its way across my face as I realized Ash and Gary were here as well. All in all not super surprising seeing as their stomachs were each thrice the size of a normal person's.

There was just about the whole population tucked away into the small diner for the lunch rush, which was to say, there were a whole 12 other people sitting at the counter waiting on food.

"Hey there guys." I waved lazily, making a peace sign with my hand and putting my signature lazy smirk on my face.

"Hey Tefff'a!"

"Hey Testa," Gary said at a normal volume, not wanting Ms. Ketchum mad at him. Then he'd get no lunch from her.

"Ash _please_ chew before you talk," Leaf said sighing, not wanting to deal with _this_ issue all over again.

I just laughed and pulled everyone into a conversation over lunch once Ms. Ketchum noticed us standing around and chatting as usual.

"Y'know," I began slowly, making sure to give Ash a look when he tried to talk with his mouth full (I _certainly_ didn't wait until he took a large bite to start talking… wherever would _anybody_ get such an idea), "we could actually travel together as four for a while, split up the work of getting water, gathering firewood, setting up camp, making sure Ash doesn't die, there _is_ a lot to do." I said teasingly.

With Leaf giggling and Gary grinning, I knew I had their attention, as Ash wiped his mouth and looked at the three of us oddly, asking "What's so funny guys? I wasn't listening."

"Don't worry about it Ashy-boy," he snickered, "it's nothing too important."

"He means you don't need to worry about it, it _is_ important, _right Gary_?" Leaf quietly ground out, making even Gary sweat bullets for a moment.

"Y-yeah, what she said." he replied with no small amount of fear in his voice. He wasn't making the same mistake as last time.

"Oh. Okay." Ash shrugged lightly, at least trusting Leaf if not Gary. "So what are we planning to do anyway?"

"As I was saying," I continued quickly, knowing Ash wouldn't pay attention for long, "we could all four travel together for at least a while, maybe until we're used to traveling and we can also try and come up with plans to meet up in spots along the journey to make sure we stay in touch if we do split up. As you four well know, whatever happens, I'm not lettin' you get away from being my friend at least, eh?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Ash exclaimed,

"It could work," Leaf said thoughtfully,

"Maybe if you want to take it easy you can do that." Gary said a bit abruptly, "I can escort you three to Viridian, but then I'm off on my own! I don't need _another_ gramps making sure nothing ever happens to me. Meeting up… meeting up is fine, just make it specific enough that I can be there on time and still do other things." _He ended quietly at least…_ I thought rolling my eyes. Meh, that's about as good of a 'yes' as any of us could ever get out of Gary. Close enough.

"So it's unanimous!" I declared in a faux deep voice with an accent that bespoke of grandeur, pointing at each of them as I spoke, "It is hereby decreed that the- one, two, three,-oh my, a whole, FOUR children shall meet every so often as to know of and make sure that the others are not deceased by any means possible other than this poor lad's cranial capacity, for it is already dearly departed." I said sorrowfully.

Unable to hold back anymore, all four of us burst out laughing as hard as we could, simply enjoying ourselves in a quiet little town for a time.

As the laughter began to wind down, heedless of the small grins and whispers from everyone else in the restaurant, we thanked Ms. Ketchum (and cleaned up our plates for her in the back) and left, all four of us walking in a bit of a line, shoulder to shoulder after exiting the door.

"I think we should all go back and make sure that we have all of our supplies," Leaf began, ever the voice of reason.

I only realized I had mumbled the last part when Leaf turned to me putting her hands on her hips and, her eye obviously twitching, yelled, "Well SOMEONE has to, between you three you'd get stuck in a three person battle, lose track of Ash, meet up with a criminal or something ridiculous and get carried off!" She huffed, finally stopping her shadow from ominously looming behind her.

Ah. I might have forgotten to mention that part huh. Whelp, no avoiding it now I suppose… with my, _stature_ , most people were taller and quite literally looked down on me (I would later attribute my wanting to be a ground type master to this fact, though I never did remember if that was really it). Including Leaf. With Gary being the tallest (I still say it's his plainly _bizarre_ hair), Ash being a close second and Leaf being a whole 2 inches below Ash I was… shorter. Four inches shorter than _Leaf_. It was truly a joy being four foot two-even though _somehow_ I was older than all three of them-oh what a _joy_ it was.

By now, we had all walked to our homes and made sure we gathered all that we would need to at least reach viridian, it was almost a full two and a half days of travel away.

Walking back into the house, I sighed deeply, knowing I would have to wait at least half an hour for Ash to get his things together and with my quadruple checking my supplies the night before, I was pretty darn sure I would be bored for a while.

And alone.

"Nope. Nope, nope nope nope NOPE! _So_ much nope." I quoted- I noticed I was prone to doing that when I was panicking actually- with a mildly deranged smile at the memory, "not doing this." I said quietly. "Waaaaaaait a second." I then proceeded to do several things, and, in order, felt a lot of regret, facepalmed, let Sting out of his pokeball on the floor, and flopped onto the couch, feeling a bit drained.

He looked up at me in confusion and let out a small sound, and judging by his face I could tell he was confused. I frowned, "You don't always need to battle when you're let out you know. Sometimes we all need to relax a little. If you want you can sit up here." I said, patting the cushion beside me.

Sting seemed all too happy to do just that, and after laying down for a moment, began to get up and search around the whole house. _Is he scenting?_ I wondered, would he find anything that was left?

 _No, there isn't anything that'd carry a scent for that long anyway…_ I thought slowly. _I'll just nap._

" 'ey Sting," I slurred, "wake me up when Ash 'n Gary come knockin' 'kay?"

Waiting until I heard him grunt (hopefully an affirmative), I blearily nodded to him and nodded off.

Feeling a poke on my face from a two pronged, something, I rolled over. And promptly yelled as I hit the floor. "Wonderful" I grumbled. "Wh-" I yawned loudly, tears pricking my eyes, "-at?" I finished, finally opening my eyes to see what was happening.

I heard a knock at the door, saw Sting staring at me in curiosity from on top of the back of the couch like a meowth would, and-suddenly wide awake-realized, _this may not end well._

"Be right there!" I shouted with a surge of adrenaline, hoping I hadn't held the other three up.

Rushing to get my bag and get to the door, calling Sting over with me as I slid to a halt in front of the door and opened it to find-"Professor? What are you doing here? Oh no, was I asleep for too long, did they leave without me? Ooohhh no, we didn't even set up when to meet where, oh I've ruined everything haven't I," I despaired.

The old Oak just chuckled lightly, as if picturing someone else. "Nothing so terrible, they were worried that you had second thoughts since you were shut in and not answering." He said calmly. It helped a lot.

I breathed out a big sigh of relief upon hearing the news. "So nothing bad, good." I smiled bright as the sun for a moment before it slowly slid away from my face. "Do you really think I can do this?" I asked lowly, hoping he'd get the hint.

"If I doubted you, then what kind of teacher would I be to send you away? It's not about knowing exactly what will happen, it's about having fun along the way. You don't need to know every outcome and strategy to make quick choices, and I know that you four can all go far." He smiled encouragingly. "Just because people move on and grow up doesn't mean that they can't make jokes or have escapes, I teach because I find it fun and rewarding for my soul. Now let's get you over to where they're waiting, no reason to be even later right?"

"Right." I attempted to grin back, probably looking more like a grimace judging by the Professor's small wince.

"Let's stick with your neutral face for now." He shrugged apologetically, "You may be a good actor but you're terrible at hiding your emotions."

"I've gotta give you guys something to work off of don't I?" I said with a ghost of a smirk.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Testa." He grinned right back. "Ah there they are, right up ahead." He said as he came to a stop in front of me near the edge of Pallet.

Looking for myself, I saw that all their parents had left already, knowing full well the kids of Pallet wouldn't be able to escape the teary 'goodbyes' and 'see you soons' with their families. I also noticed Ash looking restlessly around in the trees, Gary telling him he'd find a pokemon first, and Leaf both waving me over insistently and yelling at the other two to get back there.

Smiling weakly at the prospect of the unknown, I jogged over the last bit of distance as Ash and Gary trudged back over from the other direction.

"So what held you up?" Gary inquired, surprisingly serious (I would almost say he sounded concerned were it anyone else) for once.

"I just fell asleep, nothing big." I replied meekly, turning my head left and scratching my neck with my right hand.

"It's fine to relax you know." Ash spoke softly, "We can wait a while for a friend." He said with the sun's light seeming to spill from his face despite it being late in the afternoon.

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind." I said gratefully, if a little ashamed about making others wait on me. "You guys ready to go?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" Leaf gleefully exclaimed pointing, "Let's go!"

After day one, I was _really_ appreciating that nap I'd taken, seeing the others at the moment, exhausted and unable to do anything but breath and relax with their burning muscles after chasing one another too much.

Sighing good naturedly, I resigned myself to doing nearly all of the camp prep myself. Seeing them like this was worth it.

"You guys are still setting up the rocks for the campfire!" I shouted as I left them. They'd be fine, nothing that could hurt them lived around Pallet for miles off of the path, Professor Oak had made sure of that when he established Pallet and let his Charizard loose to do whatever he pleased provided no one got hurt. Needless to say, wild pokemon that had the potential to do harm to people quickly left.

Releasing Sting to help me, the job went quickly. We saw a few pidgey, but I already had Sting so I didn't need another flying type, least of all at the moment.

Continuing along, I noticed a loudly gurgling stream along the way back to the campsite with the wood, and heard something like distant chirping from it. I distractedly brought the firewood back to camp and told the trio that I'd be right back, not listening to their replies.

Coming back to investigate the stream that was blaring in my ears by now, I cautiously crept my way down to the stream bank, not wanting to alert whatever was there to my presence, seeing as the small chirps were getting louder and more-insistent? Something sounded off about the cry somehow. Shaking off my unease, I also signaled for Sting to climb up a tree in case something went wrong, so he could either glide directly in to the rescue or get help from the other three if needed.

Reaching the very edge of the foliage, I glanced up to make sure Sting was there, and with his coloration he wasn't _well_ hidden, but I had to look for him, and if no one knew what to look for then it would be fine.

Gathering up courage and taking a calming breath to steady myself, I completely relaxed for a moment. Satisfied, I turned the corner.

I should've prepared more.

There was a still body of a blue and green Gastrodon tipped on it's side, appearing to have been eaten stomach first based on the bite marks, I idly remarked while trying not to throw up.

The real wonder though was the small green and blue Shellos, broken eggshell just ten feet away from where the body lay, hidden under a large bush, the only reason I could see it was the small trail made by the small Shellos who was crying for the dead parent.

Shellos and Gastrodon were biologically interesting pokemon in that while they had bodies perfectly capable of adapting based on their diet and surroundings, they were actually almost always either bright pink or green and blue, unless something was extraordinarily wrong with the environment. While they were mainly sea dwelling pokemon they were also quite sturdy and capable of staying on land for as long as they stayed dry, and Gastrodon effectively ceased to have this problem due to their secretion of a very thin purple mucus to sustain themselves for up to a week at a time on land, and a sufficiently powerful one could just use water type moves to keep themselves cool and hydrated. In addition. If their backs were damaged, they could generally regenerate a significant portion of their bodies, assuming that there was no major internal damage.

Upon realizing what I thought, my eyes grew wider than a Snorlax and I took a sharp breath. _How long has this Shellos been on land?_

"Hey, Shellos?" I crooned quietly as I crouched down, "You might need to get in the water, aren't you a bit dry?"

The Shellos turned to me sharply, eyes full of hurt and confusion, and I almost broke. A freshly hatched _baby_ shouldn't need to deal with a parent leaving them. It wasn't fair, especially to the poor creature. Shellos just turned back and kept crooning, knowing full well the futility, but not caring.

Resigning myself to likely getting hit with a water gun or at least having mucus all over, I quietly called Sting down to tell the other's I'd be a while and made my way over to the Shellos, slowly picking it up and carrying it over to the water, regretting that I was the reason the cries got louder and yet preferring that Shellos would survive given that the parent sacrificed themself. It was the least I could do, but it was something.

After holding Shellos in the water for about ten minutes to make sure there would be no drying out for quite a while, I let the distraught Shellos inch back over to the, mother? Almost smacking myself in the head for not thinking things through, I whipped out my pokedex and scanned both pokemon. Shellos was female, and the Gastrodon was as well.

There was something nagging me, as if I'd forgotten some important detail. Pacing back and forth, I began to list what happened. "Shellos is not going to dry out, Sting told the other's I'd be back in a while I think… how would he do that anyway? I'll deal with that in a sec, but wh-" A chill ran down my spine as I froze and turned towards the Gastrodon with a horrific thought. _What exactly could kill and eat a Gastrodon so easily? And what is that thing doing near Pallet?_

That thought also planted a seed of worry about my and Shellos' safety, especially when Sting was gone and no one else was here to even get help should something happen.

Not liking my chances against a pokemon that could kill a Gastrodon, I saw two choices in front of me. One, go back to camp and leave Shellos here for now, but that would raise the issue of how we would move the whole camp in such a short time and how we would probably also be at risk were it some pokemon with a lot of stealth or just plainly too powerful for us. Option two… I didn't like the thought of option two but it essentially would be catching Shellos and releasing later, perhaps back into the ocean, after Professor Oak found out what killed the Gastrodon.

Filled with indecision and distress, hearing someone show up from the bushes behind made me whirl around in near panic until I saw Gary's confused face. Face turning somber, I gestured to be quiet and showed him what was wrong. His face fell, then I told him about the obviously dangerous pokemon lurking around and my two options.

At this point he just sighed, "Catch it and we can deal with this later, we can send it back to gramps if something goes wrong. But we can only do that if we're _alive_." He stressed. "Let's get back to camp," he said solemnly.

"I'll be there in like 5 minutes, send Sting back will ya?"

He just gave me a thumbs up as he walked back, but I was a little grateful he'd come to check up on me and helped with the decision.

With a bitter smile and a quick mumble, "Guess their competition for who catches a pokemon first is over," I walked over to Shellos and pressed the ball against it, which easily caught the small pokemon considering how tired it must have been by now. She would be in stasis until I let her out so while it could rest up a tiny bit there would be no major changes.

Hesitating, I checked to see if the pokedex had a camera function. Unfortunately, it did. Sighing at the Professor's forethought, I walked around to get a better angle for the picture, making sure to note what looked like the small incision marks before it was torn open.

Shuddering, I made my way back to camp, noticing Sting gliding around overhead. At least he was having a bit of fun.

Seeing Ash's face, I could instantly tell that Gary had told them. "Hey guys," I said tiredly, trying to give a small smile "what's up?"

Thankfully Leaf caught on to what I was trying to do, "Oh nothing, just talking about how you could make sure our teeth were ground into nubs by the time we're done."

"Ah puns, they really are the best of _earthly_ pleasures hmm?"

"Still too much arrogance for you to stay _grounded_ Gary." I said with a smirk. "But seriously, we should hurry and reach Viridian. Whatever killed that Gastrodon could easily go for us next." I somberly pronounced.

"And if the thing comes for us at night?" Gary asked quietly, "What then, are we chopped liver?"

"Probably." I said casually, as if I was mentioning there was a 'Bug Catcher' nearby. "We have literally no chance if this thing can outpace us." Considering many of even the slower pokemon had speed rivaling the some of the fastest people (and those that weren't naturally fast could use moves to catch up or block us), this was not very likely that we would escape.

Seeing everyone else pale as they too remembered this, I shuffled guiltily and felt a tinge of bitterness. "Sorry. I didn't mean to… well, be too pessimistic. Again."

"It's… it's almost necessary this time," Leaf shivered, shrinking in on herself. "This isn't pure theory anymore. Being a bit mad at you is better than dying."

I noticed right then from what few trees I could see past that the sky was a deep red and it was nearly dusk, so after we finished setting up camp we tucked into our sleeping bags, making sure to release our pokemon and tell them to wake us up if something was off.

Waking up and realizing I wasn't dead or dying, and no one around me was screaming in pain, I had three thoughts; Cool I'm not dead yet, ow, and why is it so _cold?!_ Biting back a yelp by the barest of margins, I sat up to laughter. Feeling something positively _freezing_ on my head, I reached up and touched something squishy. Feeling my eyes narrow and twitch, I put both hands on whatever was up there and held it at arm's length in front of me.

Eye still twitching, I stood still for a moment and tried to equate the distraught Shellos from the day before to the childlike, carefree one in my hands. When I was inevitably unable to do so, I just looked at the other three without an expression and tilted my head to the side, "Eh?"

Seeing the three-four with Shellos- laugh themselves to Weezing on their knees, I chuckled despite not being quite sure what was happening. If they were enjoying themselves, it would be fine.

Grinning like an old grandfather telling bad jokes, I questioned the blue ball of joy, "So was this your idea you little trickster?"

Shellos just grinned back and chirped loudly.

Still grinning, I just hung my head still grinning and began to cradle Shellos and put her back on my head so she could see the world from a new perspective. Quickly cooking and eating a breakfast of decent rations, we all set out to complete our tasks before we could leave.

Wondering where Sting went, I quickly called out to him and told him to stick around with me in case things went south. The other three had recovered from their tragic collapses and began to clean up camp, since I'd been tasked with making sure we had more water every morning when we decided who had what jobs yesterday.

Not knowing of a different stream and not confident I could find another in a reasonable amount of time, I called to Shellos that I'd let her back out in a bit and made my way over to the stream. Making sure to go upstream of the body, I quickly gathered our water in bottles and left, not liking the ominous feeling surrounding the area.

Back at the camp everyone else was packed up. It was just my sleeping bag laying on the ground that I quickly crouched down to roll up and placed it in the sma type of bag all trainers carried, since it used the same technology as early pokeballs and could store MASSIVE amounts of supplies of pretty much any kind.

"Everybody ready?" I asked straightening up.

"Yeah! We're all set to go on our journey!"

"Yes"

"Took you long enough," Gary grumbled, getting up from the fallen log he was sitting on.

Satisfied that Gary and Leaf would have made sure we'd gotten everything, I turned and began the walk to Viridian once more.

Gary and Ash each caught a pidgey along the way, but other than a few more puns and letting Shellos back onto my head the day was entirely uneventful.

That was, until we reached Viridian with sweat pouring down our backs at the ominous feeling growing progressively stronger with each minute as we came nearer and nearer to the town so bad that we recalled our pokemon, not wanting something to assault their comparatively hypersensitive senses (and not wanting to see Shellos scared).

When the dread came to a peak, we all shuddered and then watched in awe and a little fear as a large series of stone pillars appeared to ruthlessly punch a large Golbat and Arbok out of the pokemon center, with a Rhydon that roared furiously and spun it's drill as it came through the pokemon center wall that looked to have been blasted open by the voltorb laying around on the ground.

"Rhydon, finish them off with Stone Edge version one." A sharp voice resounded, one oddly familiar to me. At this point the man the voice had come from was in clear light and turned out to be a tall man with very short, dark hair and a grey suit. Obviously, seeing as I wanted to be a _Ground type_ master, I knew the man on sight.

"It's Giovanni!" I cried in complete awe, vividly remembering watching a gym battle last year on a field trip to Viridian, and being the only one who cheered for Giovanni and probably the only one who understood (at least some of) the complexity of his ground type techniques that I saw.

When the other three turned to me like I was crazy and all told me to shush, I was just a _little_ embarrassed. It's not every day that someone gets the chance to meet their idol after all.

By the time we'd all turned back to the 'fight,' if you could really call it that, it was over. The Arbok and Weezing were lying on the ground, obviously unconscious and Giovanni was just recalling Rhydon in a flash of red light. He'd also apparently noticed us standing there if his appraising stare was anything to go by.

As the two groups walked towards one another, the other three shivered for some reason, and though I noticed it I didn't comment, I'd seen this before. Most people got some kind of eerie vibe from Giovanni, I didn't understand it but that was just their gut feeling I suppose.

Schooling my face into it's normal blank slate, I carefully analyzed what Giovanni's face would reveal. Growing up there wasn't much to do (other than study about pokemon and play with the trio obviously), and sometimes I got bored. I decided one day - somehow, - that I wanted to be able to read facial tells. I wasn't exactly a master, but I could tell most of the basics.

It worked on most people, but Giovanni gave away nothing in his face, though it would only made sense for a man of his stature to be unpredictable, otherwise _he wouldn't be such a renowned and feared gym leader if he was that easy to read_ , I reasoned.

Seeing as the other three weren't going to say anything, I took the lead. "Hello Giovanni, is the pokemon center too damaged for people to stay in it right now?" I had a feeling Giovanni would have been able to stop damage before they reached the top floor of the pokemon center, but _maybe_ team rocket could have reached up there. Maybe they had jet packs, or the very item they were named after.

Even if Giovanni's Rhydon was notorious for being his least subtle pokemon-relying on brute force most of the time-it could certainly still tell exactly where things were on the _ground_.

Giovanni's eyebrow rose and he looked right at me as I spoke, a miniscule nod going my way as within my head I sang a symphony over an easily ignored ominous feeling, like a single spectator in a crowd with plans to murder a singer. It wasn't exactly the likely scenario, but that was why people had bodyguards; the possibility of death was there.

"The rooms are fine, but I must ask, why are you four here in Viridian?"

I'm not sure I would have been able to give a decent response, and I was quite appreciative when Ash spoke up at this. "W-we're here because we just left from Pallet a few days ago and we needed to pass through."

Giovanni blinked in obvious surprise at Ash answering his question, but quickly recovered his mask and told us to do as we pleased and to stay out of trouble. We walked into the pokemon center and immediately I remembered and reminded Gary that he needed to call the professor about the rogue pokemon roaming around Pallet. An idea popped into my head that I quickly wrote down within one of the note pages that the pokedex held and slipped it into my pocket for later. Now was dinner time.

Tired and hungry, we released our pokemon and began to chow down ASAP, not minding that we probably all looked gross and were multitudes messier than normal.

After gorging on food we patted our bellies for a moment and dragged ourselves upstairs to get some rest. There were big plans for tomorrow.

Waking up early for once, with a squishy Shellos sitting comfortably on my head, I remembered that I had written down a note in my pokedex.

My eyes widening at what I found, I carefully pulled shellos off of my head and into the tank located within the room, rushing to put on my clothes and warn Professor Oak.

As his face appeared on screen, he seemed worried and surprised by my disheveled appearance. I didn't care. "Professor, you need to get Charizard back _now_ , before he finds what's out there if I'm right."

"This is obviously a rogue pokemon right? But what if it's _the_ rogue pokemon." I said urgently as the professor rapidly paled and sent for Alakazam to find Charizard before he was taken down. The rogue pokemon is in fact Crawdaunt, and there are two very important facts that everyone must remember when dealing with Crawdaunt. 1.) You do _not_ attempt to fight them one on one. 2.) You don't _ever_ under _any_ circumstance, fight then with a type and or terrain disadvantage unless you had Lance's level of strength.

The main problem with Crawdaunt is that when they became agitated enough (even though normally they hated any other pokemon within even their own ponds), they could be pushed far enough to get help from fellow Crawdaunt. A lot of help. As in _about eight others waiting in the bushes to potshot you._ And since Charizard would have no chance of flying around furing the battle with the trees blocking the way in addition to the stream the Crawdaunt would be near, even the professor's impressive Charizard likely wouldn't stand a chance in a one v nine.

"Thank you for the warning Testa." He nodded quickly his mouth setting into a thin line, and his face seemed to sharpen as he closed the connection.

Wracked with worry that I could do nothing about, I began looking through the pokedex while waiting for the others after grabbing breakfast.

Eventually my worry gave way to an ocean of curiosity of information, specifically what moves Gligar and Gliscor could learn and how to use those moves, though I looked at a few other learnsets as well.

At this point I learned just how much of a morning person I was when it came to getting things done, since I had to wait almost four hours until the others got up.

When Ash finally finished his breakfast-I had decided to omit the call with the ancient Oak, seeing as they didn't need to know and I didn't want them to worry about it-I quickly asked them about a plan before we left for Viridian forest.

"You want _what?_ Are you insane Testa?" Gary asked incredulously.

"You heard me," I said with a raised eyebrow. "I want Squirtle to try target practice and defense training on Sting this morning."

"What brought this on?" Leaf asked, confusion obvious in her voice.

"My thought process is that if Sting can tank hits from Squirtle, then nothing else can really get past his armor at this point, and he also needs to work on evasion. It'll also help Squirtle with his aim and power y'know?"

"I'm just not sure how keen Gligar will be on that one Testa," Gary said with a nervous grin.

"I've convinced him that this is a good idea already." I waved away his concerns, knowing Sting couldn't resist getting more oran berries, he thought they were the best things in the world. I quickly noted in the pokedex to never let him have sitrus berries, or else I'd be broke within a week knowing Sting.

"Either way, before anything else happens we need to see if you agree or not, so what do ya' say Gary?"

As he let Squirtle out and they mulled over the idea, I turned to Ash and saw him intently looking the pokedex. Leaning over to see what he was doing, I saw him searching for what moves learned by Charmander and Charizard.

Shrugging since I'd done that earlier, I turned back to Gary who was just looking at me with a raised eyebrow by now, he just sighed and said that it sounded like a good choice to him and Squirtle.

"Great!" I exclaimed, "Let's begin right about now."

Rushing outside and releasing Sting, he groaned seeing where we were and sighed when I grinned and nodded to him as we waited a moment for Gary to catch up.

"We should start with physical attacks, since Squirtle needs to work on those and Sting can quickly improve him armor from hit and run to a brawling style." They couldn't fire off vollies of projectiles if Sting was right in front of them after all.

Quickly turning to Ash, I asked him if he'd be up for training as well.

Once he gave his obvious response, I quickly told him that Charmander would be an excellent opponent for Shellos, since water types were the most common of all pokemon and Charmander would need to be able to combat them effectively, and it would be good for Shellos to get battle experience.

Pokemon knew how to use basic moves like tackling or scratching the opponent and almost always had some kind of other moves right out of the egg, like how a charmander would obviously be able to use ember and throw small flames at the opponent, the difference was that with time and consistent use, the pokemon would rapidly become more proficient in using said moves. There was also the matter of learning to strafe and dodge well, but that was not a huge issue for Gastrodon due to their tough hides and regenerative capabilities.

Shellos had either old or powerful parents based on her 'egg moves,'-moves inherited from the parents-of Mud Bomb, Mud-slap, Water Pulse and Acid Armor. The moves themselves were quite common and could usually be learned naturally, moves could only become egg moves with near mastery by the parent, and acid armor in itself was uncommon among Gastrodon.

Pleasantly surprised by this information, I quickly began a mock battle between the two, being lax enough that we wouldn't need Leaf to referee. I glanced back at Sting to see how he was doing, and seeing him and Squirtle competitively slugging each other out to toughen up, I smiled faintly. _Guess rivalries run deep huh?_

Shaking my head in amusement, I quickly turned back to Shellos and Charmander squaring off, and seeing Charmander begin to pace back and forth as Shellos stared on without fear.

"Shellos," I said quietly," your job is to stay in one place and use Water Pulse to hit Charmander, he's too fast to catch, so try and hit him when he goes in. You can also try to use Water Gun to stop his Ember from hitting you."

Ash had mentioned something to Charmander as I talked, but I wasn't paying much attention by now, so I didn't know what his plan was. It wasn't important either, since Shellos and Gastrodon were terrifying opponents for any pokemon in the Charizard line. Even if they could learn Thunderpunch to deal with most water types, Gastrodon was immune to it and was far too squishy for moves like Slash to deal much damage, claws would just slide through for the most part, and ranged combat was fine for the Shellos line since they could fire off water pulses and cover the field in water to recover some damage, since Gastrodon's biology was overwhelmingly water and they could recover in battle by absorbing water through their skin, meaning a battle of attrition would be the worst idea possible. Gastrodon were however more water based than Shellos, so Shellos had a very difficult time pulling off this in battle regeneration.

Shaking my head, I left Sting to his own devices for a moment as I focused a bit more on Shellos, seeing as Charmander was rapidly throwing Embers at Shellos, however ineffective it may have been. Seeing that Shellos was going fine at this steady pace, I noticed the opposing fire type was getting slightly faster, an epiphany and slight worry flashing through my mind.

I had forgotten that Charmander, along with most fire types, were nearly immune to overheating, and that meant that often they could outlast opponents in a battle of attrition if it was a battle of projectiles everywhere, since their muscle fibers didn't overheat and break down from this, it simply made them move faster as their muscles warmed.

Thinking quickly, I had a rough idea of what Ash was trying to do, if I was in his shoes then I'd want to make charmander faster and goes for a hit and run strategy. That… could actually beat Shellos at this point. The best way to beat hit and run would be…

"Alright Shellos," I said with a grin, "do you trust me?"

After a nod, I relaxed for a moment and told her, "Good, now let's charge in."

Tensing for just a second, Shellos sluggishly made her way towards Charmander. Ash just grinned and shouted "Now Charmander, get close and use scratch, then get back out before Shellos can hit you!"

Fighting back a grin, I waited until Charmander was headed straight for Shellos and beginning to leap at her, probably trying to flip over and keep going before she could retaliate.

"Acid Armor and duck!" I cried victoriously. "Then use Water Pulse while it's above you!" Part of the Charizard line it may be, there were no wings on it's back quite yet, which meant no way to maneuver mid-air. Or so I thought.

"Charmander!" Ash cried in-wait _joy_? "Use Ember as fast as you can to push yourself through the air!"

Seeing a scaled face grin in surprise before blowing a flame behind to make himself speed up just enough to escape the Water Pulse, I was both pleasantly surprised and mildly disappointed, for Ash Charmander and for myself and Shellos respectively.

Charmander was too fast at this point, and as the battle began to drag on with Shellos unable to landa hit while being slowly worn down, I called the match.

"All right, I'll give, where in the world did you come up with that idea Ash? Especially in the split second when you realized what my plan was." I asked bewildered.

"Well, the idea just popped into my head right as I realized what you were trying to do to be honest," He said scratching the back of his head and chuckling nervously.

"So you just, thought of it, in a split second, and found a way out of an impossible situation." I summed up slowly.

"Uhh…" Ash drawled intelligently. "I guess so, yeah." He shrugged. _Shrugged_ , about having a mind practically _built_ for battling, regardless of the situation he was faced with.

"That mind of yours is your greatest tool Ash, there's no doubt about it." I said clapping him on the shoulder, heedless of his protests, thinking he was just being modest or perhaps hadn't realized the full extent of his ability within a battle.

"Anyway," I said before he could interrupt, "I think that the rest of the day today should just be getting more used to moves and spamming the most powerful ones for endurance training, then we can set off for the forest tomorrow. What'd you think?" I gave him a sidelong glance, waiting for a response.

"Sounds good to me."

And so we did.

Setting off for Viridian forest as the day truly began, with people bustling to get to their business' and pokemon letting off cries ranging from majestic to lazy to annoyingly buzzing in greeting, we began the march to an infamous maze, only matched by the Dark Tunnel to the east from what I'd heard on TV.

After all of the training, we rested and slept well, getting up quickly and grabbing breakfast on the way out, ready to get through the bug type haven quickly.

With hugely tall trees looming above us, we put on our game faces and entered with a quiet rustle of the bushes beginning to obscure the main path.

By this point our quartet could hear a faint buzzing in the background, putting us on edge and began grating on our nerves.

As we trudged on through the thick plant life, the buzzing truly faded into the background, with hundreds of other small chirps and hums and louder, higher pitched buzzing as well.

"Oh _joy,_ I _really_ love this place, don't you three?"

"No need to get snappy about it you know, we can make it through this place easily if we work together, right Charmander?"

"I'm going to go with Gary on this one guys,"

"Guys…"

"Wha… but with Charmander we can beat _any_ bug type that shows up!"

" _Ash stop talking before the universe hears you and sends more of these things"_ I hissed in fear and worry.

As the other three turned to me, or rather, what was behind me, they all paled as one and began to quietly back away. What did they see you ask? Imagine for a moment, that you have been travelling through a forest with constant noise, random noise, and even banterous noise. Now think about what would happen as tensions run high, and people start yelling as you run past a Scolipede's nest.

 _This is what you would call a_ _bad_ _idea_. The _good_ part of this situation was that the other three immediately shut up. The getting-worse-by-the-second part was that as we crept away, an egg began to shake from the nest right in front of us. The nest that was _directly in between_ us and the deadly killing machines who could reach us in less than a second, meaning they'd see us when they woke up.

We all started sweating bullets as I frantically signaled to get down and crawl away before their eyes opened, hoping beyond all hope that the Scolipede would be too preoccupied with the egg hatching to pay attention to us.

With the fear of suddenly seeing six inch horns sprout out of my chest and my heart pounding like a drum in my ears, I crawled away as quietly as I could manage while making decent progress in getting away from those things.

The big issue with my split second plan became abundantly clear when I realized two facts. One, I had no idea where the other three were. And, more importantly, I had no idea where the winding main path was, so I couldn't get help if they were lost in the forest, _I_ was lost in the forest.

Releasing Sting after walking just a bit farther away from where the nest had been, I asked if he could climb up a tree and see which way was out of here. That really didn't pan out well when he apparently stumbled upon and into an Ariados web, though fortunately there were only a few small spinarak that we had to fight off to escape.

Without knowing the way out or which way the others had gone, I chose a direction and began to march. Through brush and _shrubbery_ that I had to crane my neck and take three steps back just to glance at the top, trees with dense leaves thicker than maple syrup, and damp soil that all together gave a feeling of being unexplored or seen by people, which made sense since being off the path was a terrible idea.

All of a sudden, Sting seemed to stumble as three sets of small pinching claws attached to pale purple and blue limbs appeared from underneath Sting, as both of us froze for a moment. Sting looked confused by how weak the claws were pinching him, as if they weren't meant for piercing flesh as most were. It was then that I realized what I was looking at, it was a Skorupi. Skorupi were infamous for being extremely weak-even among their own type since they grew slower than most other pokemon, let alone other bug types-and relied on both ambushing their prey as well as injecting them with a potent poison as they clung to the victim and slowly whittled them down before the pokemon knew what was happening. Seeing as Gligar were generally quite tough, Sting even more so after tanking hits from Gary's Squirtle, that was almost a moot point from a physically weak pokemon like Skorupi, but what really sealed the deal for the poor Skorupi was Sting had the ability Immunity, one of the most amazing examples of rapid 'total evolution' within a species ever documented by today's scientists.

Immunity didn't actually exist within the Gligar population when scientists first started researching them, but was instead a reaction to a both a virus and a natural weakness to being whittled down, being tough predators that relied on whittling down an opponent, they were doomed to die if they expended all of their energy in one fight just to be finished off by poisoning shortly after. So, they evolved to become immune to poison while at the same time strengthening their own poisons, since they could now actually handle more venom within their bodies. This was actually theorised to be the main catalyst for how quickly the whole population gained the particular trait, their bodies slowly began exposing themselves to their own poison and building up Immunity similar to how a vaccine works.

As an unintended side effect of Immunity and one of the reasons that Gliscor was the amazingly defensive powerful pokemon that it is, was when Gligar with Immunity evolved, their immunity to their own poison was effectively eliminated, and something entirely different happened. Their entire _bloodstream_ became filled with their poison in small doses all over the body, and when there was an injury of some sort the poison would quickly clot at exactly that spot, but only when there was a wound that drew blood. Amazingly enough, and according to scientists a Gliscor's unconscious brain actually controlled how much poison was in their bloodstream at one time, almost like how the heart works. It's literally an automated defense system near unmatched by most other pokemon, and the blood containing poison was toxic to enemies that touched it as well, rare that it was having a Poison Heal Gliscor bleed.

Once again shaking myself out of my daydreams about what Sting would be able to pull off in the future (assuming all went according to keikaku*), I realized that Sting had in fact defeated the Skorupi in my absence. Looking closer, the Skorupi was definitely under about a month old, almost younger than most left their parents, but Drapion were also not known to be the most caring parents in the world so that was probably not a huge surprise, no the surprise was the small shriveled patch of exoskeleton on one of his legs that would likely keep him from being too fast, which was a shame since Drapion were actually naturally well armored and quite fast, a very rare combination to be sure.

 _Screw it, might as well_. I thought without much care as I threw a pokeball at the unconscious bug type. Not like my chances of getting out of the forest were all that great anyway, might as well try and give the caring and mischievous Sting a sturdy new friend for the rest of his life (maybe create a rivalry between them?), perhaps Shellos would make that a perfect trio of friends. _That'd be better than a quartet…_

Stumbling over to a log, I lied down, covered my eyes with my arm and began to laugh at myself. _Hehehehehehehehehe, I'm laughing and giving up before it's even been a day. Looks like he was right._ My arms stiffened. _Was he right…?_ Shivering, I lolled my head to see to whatever was poking me in the arm.

"Eh?" What did he want…? "What is it" I croaked out, not wanting to deal with anything at the moment.

Sting was looking at me in worry, apparently not liking how I looked to be delirious by now. It wasn't like it was a big deal was it? I could just lie here and no one would know, I was quite tired by now. Relaxed by the sounds of the forest, I was out before Sting could make another sound.

 **End Chap one.**

 **A/N Whelp, hopefully this is something decent enough for anyone who reads it, I'm just a fan of quite a few other stories but I've always been pretty bad at writing so, here's to hoping.**

 **Er, I probably can't update too often but I'll see what I can pull off if you guys want more, but I would also like to hear what you think I should add to make the story better.**

 **tHat'N'Clogs**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 **A/N erm, I guess you guys like the story, so I'll keep this comin' if you guys want, also** _**pls review it makes me feel warm and fuzzy like a white cat with red eyes and unassuming golden rings around its ears.**_ ***Cue 3*(that and I want both ideas and feedback since I wing it while writing)**

As I sluggishly woke up, over the course of about half an hour I came to realize that 1,) I was still lost in the middle of Viridian forest, and 2,) I felt like I'd been hit by a bus. Sleeping on a log did wonders for being able to crack my neck loud enough for it to actually echo once or twice within the clearing. Awake at last, I was ready to try and make my great escape from being lost. However I was going to pull that off was going to have to wait till I got to know Skorupi at least, so I quickly let out Shellos and called for Sting, guessing correctly that he was up in a tree almost directly above me.

"All right, now Skorupi here isn't exactly the strongest Pokemon but I think he could make a great addition to the team if we give him some time, so let's be nice and see what we can do to get out of here ok?" I said quickly, wanting to get some backup in case something went south somehow… again.

Lightly putting pressure on the the white button that would let out the first Pokemon I'd truly caught without some 'heroic' ulterior motive, I set my face into a slightly softer mask than normal, and crouched down, not wanting to scare the young bug type who'd been trounced without much difficulty.

As he turned around and saw that we were still in almost the same spot as where I'd caught him, I nearly slapped myself and pulled out the Pokedex to actually see a description of Skorupi.

Skorupi, The mechanical voice droned, the Scorpion pokemon.

This specimen is male, and has the ability Sniper, powering up it's attacks against weak points with it's sharp pincers.

It knows following moves: Bite, Poison Sting, Pin Missile, Agility and Cross Poison

So the Skorupi was quite young as I had thought, which was pretty good considering that the amount of strategy Skorupi had learned so far was likely not as effective, and he would be more likely to warm up to me once he got some proper training and became an effective battler.

In fact, on that note, "Hey Skorupi," I said squatting back down, "Would you like some food?"

Seeing his eyes widen and brighten at the prospect, I smiled faintly and pulled a bit of dry mix out of my pack for the the three. Gligar began to gulp his down like the glutton he is, once I let her out Shellos chirped and began to munch on the food, seeming to enjoy it immensely, and Skorupi poked at it for a moment, stuck it with his tail, and began waving it around when it wouldn't come off. Laughing hard enough to fall onto my back, I hauled myself back up and walked over to help him get it off before something serious happened.

Chuckling as he sped up even further, _so he_ does _know how to use Agility well. Huh. Weird._ While most Pokemon could use a trick known as 'p.r.i.o.r.-ity,' (which meant that the 'Pokemon who Rush In-between Other Reflexes...I hate scientists' naming skills sometimes, it could _never_ be anything simple) and with moves like Quick Attack they could force their bodies to move at ludicrous speeds for but a moment, which in English actually means that the Pokemon force their muscles to all pump blood through themselves at once and push as one, which was effective in creating that sudden boost but was also quite dangerous to keep going consistently as blood vessels bursting within a body was a bit less than ideal, while Agility was the opposite in that it was designed for long term use and relied on the user's mental focus and perception abilities to keep the move going and augment the user's eyesight to be able to handle and process all of that information so quickly, similar to but not quite the same as a Psychic type Pokemon, which confused me 'cause Skorupi evolves into a Dark type.

Meh, researchers would get it eventually, maybe I should ask to have the Professor study Skorupi?

 _What was I doing again?_ I glanced to the left of where I was standing still after getting lost in thought again, _oh yeah, his tail has food stuck on it._

"All right, calm down, calm down, come here Skorupi," I said soothingly, Skorupi turned to me and seemed to whine about the food getting stuck to his tail, he couldn't quite bend it to reach with his 'arms' to be able to move the food away at least, and he couldn't seem to slow down very easily so when he took one step it shot him 12 steps that way, and we chased each other back and forth for a minute until he finally stopped in front of me as we both tried to pull in opposite directions and get the dang food off of his poor tail, but we kept tugging and tugging repeatedly and after one big yank the food finally came off. The momentum from that consistent tugging sent the poor bug type flying. Straight towards me.

My eyes widening immensely, I simultaniously ducked and squinted so as to protect myself, and it did something. Oh boy, it did _something_ all right.

Because I'd crouched down so suddenly, my feet were unstable, and when a twenty pound bug came hurtling right towards me, I curled up instead of trying to balance or stand up to avoid getting hit, since I wrapped my arms around my legs to 'protect' me and stop me from falling as well. This became an issue when Skourpi's flight path aimed straight for where my legs were, or in this case, my _bare arms_. Which were promptly injected with poison. As his stinger practically bit into my arm, he looked on in a bit of fear and while he did pull it out, my unsteady footing screwed me over and as I tried to relax all that happened was that I fell back and got roughly stabbed in the back as I tried to flip over and use my hands to steady myself.

A scream tearing itself out of my throat at this one, I urgently grabbed the clawed end of the tail and tore it out of my back ASAP.

Feeling my entire body go numb for a moment, I tried to relax. Then I realized I couldn't and figured out that _this_ was what going into shock felt like. My. _Favorite._

Trying and failing to not panic, I called Sting over and mumbled for a second before pulling myself back up, heedless of my own pain besides a hiss as my back spasmed. I needed to make sure they'd be safe.

"Sting," I said through clenched teeth, trying to focus on anything else, like what could happen if I left the trio of pokemon without any help and died. "Help me with the bleeding, grab me some thick leaves without any webs on them if you can."

Unwilling to give up, I quickly turned to Skorupi and despite his fearful look in his eyes, I gave a smile that probably looked more like a grimace and asked him quietly, "Do you know the way out of here?"

When he shook his head I thanked Sting for finding a few leaves that would help slow the bleeding, but of all things I didn't have gauze in the backpack, I didn't think I'd have the need and a pokemon could just be sucked up into its pokeball for safety.

Growing desperate, I turned back to Skorupi solemnly. "Skorupi," I croaked quietly, beginning to get drowsy and losing focus in my eyes, "you… might be our only chance out of here."

Seeing him begin to dig back under the ground as Sting screeched about something, I began to lose sight of everything as my eyes truly lost all focus. _Ooooh,_ I groaned mentally, _it had to get stuck to his tail._ I smiled a true smile for just a moment, with a simple thought in mind. "Don' hold it against 'em Sting." I said woozily, my traitorous legs giving out beneath me.

"It'll… this is fine," I said dazedly, "What could _possibly go wrong_?" I chuckled good naturedly, not sure who I was even talking to anymore, as my senses shut down and my eyes grew heavier than a Wailord. "At least you guys," I paused, yawning loudly. "good friends…" I trailed off, gone to the world.

Waking up to my side feeling like it was cut, drenched in salt water and left to dry on a sweltering August day, I was unhappy. I was also laying on something dry and flaky, and after digging into it with my hand, I knew it was soft dirt, confusing me, since no reason for this came to mind.

When I tried to shift to a more comfortable position, I suddenly heard a grunt and three pokemon were upon me, and my side felt like it cracked, but glancing at the large scab there was no such crack. _Wait_ , _scab?_

Seeing Skorupi look guiltily back up at me as I glanced to the side, I remembered what happened to land me in this position.

I promptly stared intensely at Sting, daring him to look smug. When he didn't I just sighed. "You can be mad at him for a while, but no holding a grudge for an accident. I should have been better prepared anyway."

Looking to the left in guilt and shame that they had to deal with me being passed out and stabbed with… poison… _how…?_

"Hey guys," I started hesitantly, "How did you get the poison out of my side?" While Skorupi were infamous for being weak _pokemon_ , their poison could still easily finish off a human, meaning somehow they'd gotten the poison out of my system.

Staring in confusion, Sting began to gesture to Skorupi as the bug type slowly turned to the side with a wince, and upon seeing what Sting meant I sucked in a breath.

There was a slash on his abdomen, between two of his legs. Right in the internal organs, where the antivenom kept vitals from dissolving.

Skorupi's side had begun to heal, though it was nearly red and looked puffy, and he seemed to be near shedding his exoskeleton at the moment, meaning the wound would at bare minimum hurt a bit less. Not like that made me feel any better, but it was a small consolation nonetheless.

By now I felt like I was being torn up from inside, aching side forgotten. I didn't want… they… "I don't want you guys to get hurt again." I whispered in realization of what I was feeling.

"If I… you guys should be able to do what you want if something happens, I don't care about efficiency or anything dumb like that as long as you guys stay fine."

Seeing them stare at me hesitantly, I opened my arms, not caring if there were spikes or slime. "As long as you guys are okay, I will be too. I-I promise." I swallowed thickly, knowing full well that by now I'd rather be the one to take an attack that would kill them.

Whether they'd try to take the attack anyway I could only speculate.

I felt… refreshed I suppose. That moment in the forest, however small it might seem, with just three young pokemon by my side… the times were simpler and that was a turning point for me. I had truly begun to care about what happened, instead of being purely tactical. I would still have decisions to make as a trainer, but now they'd be tough, _meaningful_ decisions instead of brutally efficient ones. It was a nice change.

Thankfully, Sting was intent on dragging out of my dark thoughts that day, and his joining the hug seemed to be a cue for the other two as well, as they joined shortly after.

Smiling widely, I thanked all of them, not caring what anyone else would think were they here.

Determined to get us out of here and get back to the other three, I gently set them down, ignored the sharp stab of pain in my side and got up. "Alright, we have two options. Skorupi, do you know which way leads out of here?"

When he shook his head solemnly, I gulped. "Alright, that's fine, we have option two."

"Which way do you guys think we should try?" I said with a small grimace. This was either going to be very messy or take a _long_ time.

My fear was what would result if it were both.

Setting out in the same direction we were going before I caught Skorupi, I returned Shellos and set out, knowing the Poison type and the Ground type would be more effective here.

After we walked for an indeterminate amount of time, what with the sun being obscured by the dense canopy, I began to get uneasy. Judging by how Sting was warily scanning around us, he felt the same.

From the treetops, a bright green shape fell on top of Skorupi, then another two leapt from the treetops on Sting as he stared at whatever had ambushed his fellow bug type.

Turns out, even with three of them, the young Spinarak were no problem at all for Sting and Skorupi.

Just as the first one landed on him, Skorupi darted forward and stopped without warning, throwing the Spinarak off of him and quickly grabbing the little green predator-turned-prey with the pincers on his forearms.

The poor Spinarak seemed to realize he was doomed as his eyes widened and he began to frantically struggle, seemingly fearing the worst.

Seeing what Skorupi did next, this fear was obviously well founded.

As I left Skorupi to… his own devices, I turned to Sting just shrugging off any attempt at attack the Spinarak could muster, and simply charging in with Fury Swipes to deal more damage than it seems they could hope to without the advantage of their poison, and although they weren't immune to poison themselves it would take a comparatively ludicrous dose to actually hamper their efforts.

Time that we probably didn't have, considering that where there were Spinarak, there was often an Ariados or another larger predator that would be following them.

After the small skirmish with the weak bug types, we trekked on, encountering no more pokemon as we made our way through the maze like place, seemingly for days despite it not really seeming like time passed, it was always this hazy, dusk like level of brightness that would make one squint if not accustomed to it.

Regardless, we set Shellos up to watch while we slept on the ground, which none of us particularly minded.

By the third time we had slept we were all exhausted, running around trying to avoid more threatening pokemon like Ariados, the blindingly fast, elusive Scyther, and especially ambush specialists like Scolipede.

The fact that we all cheered and hugged when we saw a light to the way out was a Testa-ment to this fact.

Reaching for the pokeballs to recall the two faithful, obviously tired pokemon by my side, I grinned. We actually made it out of there alive.

"Not bad, kid."

Whirling around with eyes wilder than an angry Tauros, I took in the features of a fairly tall man with a dark uniform on and, surprisingly bright green hair. Blinking in surprise at this… anomaly, I pointed to his hair, "Is that-"

"Yes, it is my natural hair color." He sighed good-naturedly, seeming mildly exasperated by the question. "As I was going to say," He continued delightedly, "I would like to see what you can do with a little help from us in training your pokemon. We mostly do research with catch and release techniques, but we also train to make sure our pokemon are in top shape, it's always nice to have help on the journey, no? Anyways, I just wanted to get the invitation out there if you wanted to join, and you can join us later if you want, just keep us in mind ok?" His smile waned a bit as he scratched the back of his head, "Ah, sorry if I surprised you with so much info, I'm just eager to have good trainers join us, we need a lot of help making it up to certain areas to study the pokemon there."

"Ah…" I said, still processing all of what he said and what it would mean for my team. "I mean, I wish you guys luck, and I might help you later, but for now I want to get stronger and enjoy the journey that we're going on." I held up my finger with an idea as he began to turn away, "Oh, wait!" I called as he took a step away, "How should I find you guys if I want to get in contact with you later?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, we'll probably see you again sooner or later, since we need to stop in cities for supplies pretty often, and considering your goal I'm gonna guess that you won't be hard to find with skills like yours." He said mysteriously as he turned back around and waved behind him, "See ya later, kid."

Satisfied with the answer and the compliment, I set off to reach the dream civilization I had hoped would be my salvation for the past few days, or as it was more commonly known, Pewter City.

The physical city was quite small, perhaps about seventy people who consistently lived here, but what kept it running were the hundreds of trainers that came through to fight Brock, one of either the toughest or easiest gym leaders depending on your style of battling. If you were a brute force, all in kind of person, then you would usually wind up winning, depending on type matchups alone. If you were a patient, tactical battler, then _boy do I have some bad news_. Brock's rock types were simple enough in their strategies that most of the time, the only counter to them was to break right through them. You can't outsmart a rock hurtling at your face, all you can do is punch it to pieces or dodge the next hail of them that comes for you.

With Skorupi… there was no real chance. Being a big type with relatively soft armor and mediocre offensive skills wouldn't be able to do much to the rock types. Shellos would be both the best and possibly only chance at victory, depending on how many pokemon he decided to use against me, and Sting would be an interesting duality. He get around the battlefield with quick attack if needed, and probably jump on top of any rocks thrown at him using quick attack to reach the tops, glide off and maneuver his way around the battle, or perhaps tank some hits if he was on the ground, but the trouble was that he had no real way to damage the sturdiest type, since the tough hides of the rock types would prevent him poisoning them.

Then, the only solution to have not just a fighting chance, but an advantage was…

A plan already forming, I chuckled internally. If Brock wanted a battle, he'd get a battle.

After dragging my sore body all the way through the city-getting lost twice in the process, I resolved to buy a map of every city in Kanto if only to avoid looking like a street beggar, asking for the nearest pokemon center-I cleaned myself and got a hot meal, vaguely remembered a phase of 'hunger is the best sauce' and almost hit myself for forgetting such sacred words. I also bought a grey sweatshirt to stay warm, the first one had been ripped and was caked in dirt, and there was no way I was going to last more than a week without my precious pocket-y-warm-comforting sweatshirts.

Once my belly was full, I was done being dramatic and grabbed some supplies for the road including bandages, gauze, and a numbing agent. Just in case something happened… again.

Clearing my head before going outside, I pulled all three of the pokeballs off of my belt at released the friends contained within.

"Hey guys, before we get to our first gym, I have a few ideas…" trailing off on seeing confused faces looking back, I quickly explained what the gym challenge was, "So that's the gym challenge, and I…" I paused and continued lowly "I want to be a Ground type master, someone who's team is recognized as one of the best, the trainer _and_ the Pokemon."

Shaking off my embarrassment at revealing my dream, however silly the emotion was in this case, I rallied my focus. "Anyway, my main idea is to get you guys learning quite a few moves, so far I've been lazy in trying to make you guys any stronger, and I apologize. In such a case, if you'd _really_ like to get stronger, we have some work to do."

When several pairs of eyes flashed with determination and nodded, I grinned a mile wide and set up some exercises. We were gonna be out here for quite a while.

After all three of them had worked themselves to near collapse, I called a break. We'd all skipped lunch for today, and once the food was in front of them it didn't exactly last long despite knowing what would happen if they ate too fast. I just shook my head and ate slower, though I hadn't been idle either. When it came to Sting's endurance training, we both ran for about two miles each way and it positively _killed_ the both of us.

We were still going to do it again after lunch though.

Sting was also tanking water pulses from Shellos during his training, when he wasn't working on his new move anyway. I wanted the tri to learn quite a few new moves, but generally one or two at a time was all a Pokemon could handle, and learning moves from allies was more difficult than most when the original pokemon had trouble with the powerful move.

Shellos was working on Mud Bomb and getting better with Acid Armor, especially the speed at which the move could be used.

Skorupi was trying to learn to slip into Agility as almost reflex when he was in trouble, since his armor was pretty soft for his natural ability, at least until he was a Drapion. Then he'd be a monster. Until then, he'd have to settle for being more of a speedy offensive threat. Oh well.

Sighing in both contentment and regret, I packed up the finished lunches and got ready to suffer through another run, though at least Skorupi would also have to go with us this time. Frowning, I realized an annoying loophole. "And without Agility Skorupi, no cheating." My eyes lit up in glee at my next thought though, "Or do, you'll just have to run double the distance in half the time, or do it again after we finish."

Taking an entirely reasonable amount of satisfaction out of Skorupi's slumping down, I sighed and began to drag myself alongside Sting as we resigned ourselves to running till we were ragged.

Lying on my back, almost wishing I was dead with the burning in my whole body, Sting had recovered more quickly than me and was enjoying this. "Sting," I groaned in pain, yet beginning to grin in spite of this, "you should go train with your new moves." Even if I couldn't see him, I knew for a fact that Sting was slumping his shoulders, getting ready to groan. Laughing through the pain, I pulled myself up and faced him. "You'll be fine, and after we get these sessions going consistently," I grinned maliciously as he buried his head in his arms, "then we'll be too powerful to be beaten."

Seeing him pretending to cower at the thought, I tiptoed behind him.

"BLYAT!" I shouted gibberish as he began to open his eyes again, and as he jumped more than four feet in the air, I'd say I got him pretty good. Shellos and Skorupi agreed.

Being as burned out as we were after the first of many a day's hard work, we headed back to the pokemon center to rest and get ready for whatever was next.

We had gone out quite a ways, about six or seven miles away from the city itself to find a quiet place to train without any interference, which was surprisingly easy to find due to Skorupi's vibration sensitivity. We had gone up into the small hills that lead into mountains since the forested area around most of Pewter was crawling with bug pokemon.

The hard part was getting back… then it started raining.

Not wanting anyone to get hypothermia, I quickly recalled two them and looked for a dry place to stay until the weather let up, though I let Shellos stay out and enjoy the rain, water of all things wasn't going to slow down a water type, but rain was also one of the few situations that Shellos could make use of her evolution's specialty and recover quickly.

After almost ten minutes of searching, I found a fairly large opening that looked shallow, and was a peculiar shade of pale yellow, and some odd red markings in one corner. Not one to question getting out of the rain, I ran in and huddled under the outcropping of rock, marvelling at what had eroded over millions of years into a smooth overhang, almost like a bunch of hair, since I could see that it curved under the mouth of the cave.

Turning around to an acrid smell, I quickly noted three things. 1) I was definitely not alone in this cave, 2) that was because there was a Numel in here, and 3)... he seemed angry if the rising temperature and the narrowed eyes were any indication.

Mind going blank for a moment as I began to panic without a way out-not including hypothermia anyway-I was snapped out of it when Shellos challenged the larger pokemon and slid in front of me to defend me.

The Numel snorted, smoke streaming from his nostrils as he stamped his foot, creating a crack with a weak golden light streaming from it snuck it's way underneath Shellos and erupted, causing Shellos to cry out in pain.

Sufficiently pissed off now, I matched the angry Numel's glare with my own and got ready to release Sting and Skorupi to assist, but then a wicked grin curved itself onto my face as I saw that Shellos was flatly staring back at me, shaking her head. Shellos wanted this fight, but I wanted blood too.

What the Numel didn't realize is that he forgot the rule of dealing with anything sentient.

Beware the quiet ones.

As the Numel stood still and stamped his foot again, I quickly told how Shellos to counter, "Shellos, use Mud Bomb to plug up the crevice, aim in front of it to intercept."

There was no need to be impatient, revenge was not to be rushed. It was best served cold, just like all of the rain Shellos had been absorbing through her extremely porous skin.

"Shellos," I called out in faux calm, "use the rainwater you stored up to hit 'em with Water Pulse."

Opening her mouth and quickly dipping into her water supply, the sphere was slightly smaller than normal in her haste.

Seeing that the orb moved almost double the speed of her normal projectiles, I thought we'd have to implement that one into her strategy. This thought was, of course, secondary to the feeling of satisfaction that hummed vibrantly through my veins as I saw the Numel stumble at the hit, and seeing the Numel take some water into the hump on it's back, the source of its power that determined it's offenses and was it's greatest weakness, now had water cooling a bit of the magma in it.

Seeing the pokemon begin to drunkenly stumble and see black smoke stream from the hump in it's back, I felt a stab of pity for the pokemon, but what had weakened it so much?

Wincing, I took a closer look at the pokemon, and saw that while the Water Pulse had hit a fairly significant portion of its front, its back was also soaked, meaning the rain had hit the Numel pretty hard. Thinking deeper, it was probably stuck out there for quite a while, being unable to move effectively in the rain at all.

Feeling sympathy for the fire type, I thought on my options and realized that I'd planned something very closely along these lines. Or close enough anyway. Simply put, there weren't a huge amount of ground type pokemon out there.

Prepping the ball, I threw it at the raggedly breathing Pokemon.

The ball shook a fair amount for a Pokemon so near collapse, but even with it's impressive tenacity there was no real chance of it breaking out.

Unbidden, a thought sprang into my mind about what was going to happen as the journey progressed. "D'you want a n-nickname?" I asked Shellos, giving a small shiver and hearing teeth begin to chatter as the adrenaline faded away and cold weather caught up to me.

Seeing a tilted pair of eyes squinting on a blue body blink at me, I quickly amended my question. "You don't have to get a nickname if you don't want one, I just… thought you might want one" I shifted awkwardly, maybe she wouldn't want one and she'd give up on me after seeing how much I rely on her, _oh I've screwed it all up what will I-_ Feeling a wet tap on my leg, I turned back to the concerned water type from my pacing that I had unintentionally began.

"Aaahh, sorry about that." I gave a pained grimace, not liking how much my mind was acting up without any kind of control.

Shifting the worrying thought out of my mind, I almost asked Shellos what I was doing when I snapped my fingers and my face morphed into a little o. "Right, that was it. So! Do you want a nickname or no?" When all else fails, go to being pragmatic.

With yet another tilt of the head-with clear eyes this time-I knew she was thinking on it. Knowing it might take a while for the storm to pass, I let Sting and Skorupi out, asking Skorupi the same query, but he shook his after a moment of thought. Not like many people would get Skorupi or Drapion confused anyway, no one even used the powerful little… buggers… _Oh god I'm turning into the Professor…_

Pushing stray thoughts away, again( _hmm… arguing with myself or another with a similar mindset would likely be beneficial at some point. Or maybe therapy-either or really_ a small part of me whispered), and resuming my focus on the task at hand proved to be difficult though not impossible, thankfully.

After what felt like hours, the storm let up and the sky began to clear. Smiling over to the beautiful sunset that was just peeking under the horizon a few minutes later, I saw it as a sign of great things. One could not reach the new dawn without some hardship through the night, but it was easy enough when you had pokemon by your side, and with the help of Sting, Skorupi, the newly christened Arroyo and the freshly caught Numel, there would be plenty of help for any situation. Ground was all around people after all, there was no way to truly escape it.

With a cheshire grin blossoming on my face, I began to think about what problems Brock specifically would pose and nip them in the bud. The main issue was that even though Sting was a powerful fighter, he wouldn't be able to pierce the armor of a larger rock type. A Geodude or a young Rhyhorn, sure, but nothing larger or more experienced than the most basic rock types.

Then there was Arroyo. The future menace to all pure melee fighters. What was worse than something that could hit you as you were forced to run into it and yet you _still_ couldn't even strike it, despite it's stationary status?

For now, I was ready to introduce Numel to the team in case Brock pulled out a third pokemon, since I doubted even Sh-Arroyo could fight two in a row, knowing that Brock was a gym leader, he'd have a way to ensure that type advantages were at minimum semi-neutralized.

Probably? _At least I hope so… wait no I don't what am I… I mean…_ I didn't want the battle to be _easy_ but I didn't want to be hopelessly outmatched, I wanted a battle, not a one sided beatdown.

Mind made up, I decided that tomorrow would be our gym challenge.

 _In the meantime, I should really get to introducing Numel,_ Pulling out my Pokedex before ghosting my hand over the pokeball this time, I gathered everyone around and told them we had a fourth teammate, Skorupi and Sting were curious, and though Arroyo's eyes darkened for a moment, I blinked at it was gone as the three stared expectantly.

Pressing the white button with a moment more of trepidation, I shoved both the 'dex and the ball into my sweatshirt pockets before holding my hands out to not look threatening. It was a fight to not keep them shoved into my comfortable coat pockets, but whatever would help relations, especially with a temperamental and more importantly _new_ member, I would at least give a try.

Madness promptly ensued.

Numel, apparently noticing the lack of rain, immediately took in the- _nonthreatening_ -surroundings and fired off a small volley of Embers to stall Sting and block Skorupi, then fired a quick Earth Power at Arroyo, who wasn't expecting the hit and was knocked away. Before the fire type could pursue however, I stalked in front of the two foot pokemon and stared it down, rage pressing me on like a man possessed. It looked like it wanted to snort at me, until I crouched down, looked it in the eye and _glared_ into the little bastard's soul.

"You might not like me, you might not fight for me, you might not even _walk_ with me, but you will not _ever_ attack the team without provocation again. Or you will not come out of the ball as everyone around you gets stronger. I don't like the idea, but if you go too far then I will leave you in there until Arroyo evolves let her drench you to the point where that magma in your back _solidifies_."

Still seething as the Numel backed up a step, I straightened up and huffed, not liking the turn the day had taken. Suddenly the sunset looked like a volcanic eruption waiting to happen, causing mass chaos in its wake.

Dropping my head to my chest in sudden exhaustion, I reached into my pocket and used both items on Numel, not having the energy to deal with his issues at the moment and went to find Arroyo.

If I hadn't been so damn _stupid,_ Arroyo wouldn't have gotten hurt, Sting wouldn't think me crazy and unstable, Skorupi might even be happy with the others as opposed to just about food, and Numel might not _fear_ me of all things.

Finding Arroyo a few minutes later, she was covered in dirt and left a small trench, looking to have tumbled on the way over, like she'd been _punted_ off into the distance.

Falling to my knees, I made a promise of sweat, tears, and _blood_.

"I… will not let this happen again. I will not see you guys defeated, lying helpless by my actions." I stared ahead resolutely, a new _requirement_ joining my greatest ambition.

Breathing deeply as I attempted to forget my troubles and enjoy the rapidly fading sunset, I relaxed marginally with the knowledge that nothing could poss- _Not going there_. I smiled bitterly, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle if I'd reached this stage again. _Guess I'm gonna have to let you out again soon, huh?_ I thought with the bitter taste of melancholy stuck to my tongue. _You're damn right ya're gonna have ta' ya little bastard._ I could hear His bloodthirsty grin at my thoughts. _Ya can't escape from the Tempest, now don' test-a me. What could_ possibly _go wrong with letting little ol' me out hmmm?_

 _I still remember last time you crazy bastard._ I snapped back irritable as a freshly woken Ursaring. _You just about killed Ash with your crap._ I seethed as hot rage bubbled up once more. My jaw clenched as I tried to force Him back out and just relax again. _I'll let you out in the battle, now_ leave.

At that He chuckled deeply with a wide grin, _but you nee-_

" _SHUT UP"_ I screeched, fed up with his BS after all that the day had been.

After a bit more chuckling he finally left. I clammed up and gave in to my urge to _get back_ to the Pokemon Center and just… get away from this for now. I wasn't prepared and I had no way of dealing with it, so I wouldn't. Not yet.

Ready to call it a day, I turned back to find Sting looking at me concernedly. I couldn't give a damn if I wanted to.

Walking past and asking whether he and Skorupi wanted to go in the ball or walk back, they both elected to walk, one on either side of me.

Not in the mood to protest, I just trudged along, noticing but ignoring their glances at me. Whether they hated me, were concerned they'd got stuck with the wrong trainer or what have you, their glances were no reassuring. So they were ignored. I did _not_ need to be more unstable right not.

Aside from feeling like I'd been stabbed in the back by my _idiotic_ self from about an hour ago, there was nothing wrong when I drifted to sleep inside the room after getting Arroyo healed and having the three sprawled across the room wherever they pleased.

The day was finally over but… something had been left behind, I could feel it. Not something physical, but something… holding something in place it felt like.

Not in the mood to ponder with Him lurking in the depths, I dragged myself into a deep sleep.

 **End Chap 2**

 **A/N I've been wondering whether you guys(all four of you lol) would prefer shorter chapters with less words or slightly longer chapters with more words in it, the story should actually progress about the same pace either way it's really just preference.** _ **Again pls review I'm starving for them.**_ **Also, leave any suggestions or Con/Crit for me, I'm trying to make this a** _ **good(and entertaini~ing)**_ **story instead of a lazy story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey look it's chapter 3.**

 **I just wanted to say that I kind of regret not being able to post this sooner-a lot in fact- but** _ **wonderful BS**_ **has been going on IRL so… not much I can do about that. On the upside, I got most of the plot outlined and got some ideas for the final team by now.**

Now, being as tired as I was, I suppose it was reasonable, but I was still unhappy when I woke up at ten in the morning. The _night_ was for resting, not the day. Mild disgruntledness aside, I glanced at the dex and saw Numel's information spread before me, since I'd muted it the other day. Resigned to the problem that would rear their heads soon, I sighed deeply and looked at the information.

This… this was shocking.

Despite knowing just how much water types could shut down Numel, I had obviously underestimated it. In my disbelief, my finger must have slid over the 'play information button,' since next thing I knew it was spitting out information like an angry cowboy in a pub.

Numel, the Numb Pokemon

This specimen is male and its ability is Anger Point, leading the Pokemon to be exceedingly aggressive at nearly all times and increasing the power behind it's moves.  
It knows the following moves:Ember, Focus Energy, Magnitude, Ancient Power, Stomp, and Earth Power.

Not only did Numel have a large movepool so far, he had also gained considerable progress on Earth Power, normally a taxing move for any inexperienced Pokemon.

And Numel had made it into a quick and efficient weapon. That probably should've clued me in earlier as to just how much power and skill the young pokemon had, but I was still blindsided by the fact that he had such powerful variety, considering he used a total of two moves against 3 Pokemon in the cave.

The main crux of the issue was that Numel was a powerful young pokemon, more powerful than anyone else on the team as of yet, and so the only one who could really keep him under control was Arroyo. That then left the issue of how Arroyo was going to train, since Numel could easily defeat her if she was weakened at all, and Numel didn't seem to be the most… cooperative of Pokemon, so he likely wouldn't join in training.

 _Nope, I'll think about this as I…. go do anything else._ I thought worriedly. I quickly looked for an excuse of time to use up and found that Own Tempo was… more worrying than I'd thought.

The fact that the Pokemon had a natural sense of direction and could not be tricked by 'physical means' was worrying enough, though the speculated increase in psychic power was unexpected and almost a non issue, since Numel couldn't actually _learn_ any psychic moves.

What Numel would then channel these fledgling psychic abilities _into_ had me shivering for a moment, then I decided to deal with that later too. After all, I could just keep him in the Pokeball and he wouldn't notice the passage of time.

Feeling guilty took second fiddle to making sure everyone stays safe.

After thinking on what today would be used for, I dragged myself out of bed and down the stairs, feeling drained as a power plant with a _swarm_ of joltik on it. _Why do I do this to myself…_ I asked mid groan. ' _Cuz you love to torture the both of us ya' dumb bast'rd…_ He grumbled irritably. I just sighed and gave a small frown. _Why_ are _you here anyway? I don't like you and I don't need you, ever._ I received the impression of an unimpressed sneer as he replied, If _that's what you really think, be my guest. I can wait. You_ do _need me, and you'll see here in a bit._ He cackled and receded as I began to unintentionally growl at the taunting.

"Stupid, lazy, freeloading, son of a..." I cut myself off with a clench of my hands that felt like it was going to draw blood if I didn't let up, a~and I was tired again. Rubbing my hands on either side of my head as if I had a headache, I went upstairs to get the day started.

Opening the door after climbing a flight of stairs, I could only smile dryly at Arroyo's eager expression and Skorupi's bored attitude, simply glancing at the walls and scuttling around slowly until he registered the door had opened, eyes full of curiosity at what would happen today.

I sighed, Sting was… _trying_ to sleep on the wall, but the problem was that he had no grip on the small perch with just his clawed feet. Usually a Gligar would pull the trick of hanging upside down in order to sleep, but they would also use their tails to wrap around branches or divots in cliff walls. The Pokemon Center had perches, sure, but they were meant for smaller flying types, and could support the weight of a Pidgeotto or maybe a Fearow, not a Gligar who _doubled_ the average of the smaller flying types. It didn't break, but they whole perch was bent towards the ground and Gligar's tail kept sliding onto his feet and flopping over them, unable to keep him balanced.

I shook my head fondly and pulled him down before he could fall and break the floor or the perch.

Today was a day to get things going again, _interesting_ style. Finding out whether Brock would be a pushover or not would be fun.

Standing before the building, I was… unimpressed. I had the image of a rocky cliff face bearing down on my intimidatingly, and all I got were a few rock formations on the battlefield. Meh, whatever. That wasn't what I was there for. There wasn't actually a receptionist in the gym, just a young man who seemed to be dangling his feet waiting for something sat on one of the rocks, and the man looked straight at me when he heard the door opening, eyeing me speculatively.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I am here to challenge you to a Gym Battle" assuming this was Brock anyway, I _really_ hoped it was but he wasn't one of the more popular Gym Leaders, making it hard to tell.

He looked me up and down momentarily with a small frown marring his features and muttered to himself for a moment.

"Are you ready to begin?" I asked a bit louder than was probably necessary, seeing as did look lost in his thoughts.

Suddenly grinning slyly, I loudly proclaimed, "Or are you scared?" as my blood started to race in excitement. _This is going to be fun_ I thought savagely.

Brock (or at least I assumed he was Brock) got down from his perch, I thought I saw a ghost of a smirk cross his otherwise blank face. 'S'pose that's why his name was Slate, but I guess I'll never really know.

Brock curiously didn't have a referee, but it was unimportant based on Brock's small reputation as an overly generous Gym Leader, always favoring the challenger.

 _This'll be_ easy I thought confidently.

Brock's poker face was something I truly admired when he pulled out a pokeball and immediately sent out an _Onix_ , since my face looked someone had tried to draw circles for the eyes and ended up making them triple what they should be.

"The battle shall be a two versus two match. Choose your Pokemon wisely."

I bit my lip in mild panic, thinking about who could take out a monstrously large Pokemon, since even though Arroyo would be able to damage it quite a bit, her durability if she took a hit from that was not looking good, questionable at best.

No one else on the team even had a _chance_ against this imposing Pokemon though.

Holding back a grimace, I slid my hand to my belt and grabbed Arroyo's ball, determined to at least _try_ and get through this, to validate the work we'd put in and what we would do in the future.

With that thought in in to help ground myself, my facade solidified and mindset went from blowing away like grains of sand to reveal the hardened schist rocks underneath.

As Arroyo coalesced outside of the ball, I cleared my throat and murmured. "Arroyo, we're in the gym, and this looks bad but I _know_ that you can do this."

She paused and tilted her head to listen to me, then looked forward and up, and up, and _up_ until her head was looking almost straight up. She started to draw in on herself and I felt my chest tighten seeing her like that.

"Arroyo…" I mumbled, face becoming clear as I smiled in remembrance of something. "there's an important saying, the bigger they are, the harder they fall," I paused as my smile grew into a savage grin, "but the _more_ important addition to that phrase is that everybody falls onto the _ground_."

Seeing her straighten up and settle into what would have been a crouch on most other Pokemon, I knew she was ready and called this out to Brock. He simply nodded and began with a simple command. "Onix, use Rock Throw."

Seeing Onix's tail whip around to grip a boulder larger in diameter than Brock was tall, I was not having happy thoughts. Thankfully Arroyo seemed to think of the idea just as I did, since by the time I actually said, "Use Acid Armor to dodge!" she was already on it.

Not wanting to give Brock the advantage, I tried to figure what would take down the Rock Snake Pokemon, beginning to say something, but my voice died in my throat as I couldn't come up with anything reasonable.

And for all the theory I had, it crumbled and fell before the power of the Onix.

At my freezing, Arroyo turned back to me in confusion. Brock sprang upon the opportunity as he told Onix to use Bind, trapping Arroyo completely.

Eyes widening, I still had no idea how to salvage the situation that had tumbled far out of my control faster than a Ninjask. Cursing internally, I wracked my brain for a solution, _any_ solution, so help Arroyo and win. To not _fail_ my team.

 _Bet you could use my help, eh Kid?_ _The Tempest can make a deal if 'ya want. We can even negotiate later since ya' pressed fer time righ' now._ Forced to consider the deal, I grimaced and relinquished the tight reins that were shaking in my hands.

As he cackled and… rose to the surface, I suppose, I could feel myself slipping a little lower as if suddenly stuck inside of a pipe with slippery walls, though I could still see what was happening as normal through the hole at the top, like I was in the back portion of my own eye.

 _This one is "_ Gonna be _fun_ " he growled, suddenly changing my demeanor. As Arroyo kept struggling, my voice grew guttural and yelled out "Draw up a Water Pulse _in between_ the rocks!"

Seeing the Onix roar in pain and a chunk of its body become darker, I could only assume that the wild plan of attack had actually worked, and for a moment I simply marveled at such a plan and how effective it was despite being so simple, especially since the massive creature dropped Arroyo in it's haste to scramble for a way to get rid of the liquid covering it.

 _Woah, how'd you even come up with that idea?_ I asked in momentary wonder.

 _Bein stuck in there, not like I had much else to do but think of strategies ya know? Especially when you're always yappin' away with plans of your own._ He thought with what I felt was an undertone of, melancholy.

As our focus turned back to the battle I couldn't help but be happy that Arroyo was grinning, despite all of my previous failures and shortcomings. Suddenly my happiness became bittersweet as doubts began to surround me. _You could have saved her mother_. _Could've stopped them from_ leaving _you. You should have been able to sto-_ _QUIT IT!_ He mentally shouted, startling me out of my inner demons. _If ya don't SHUT_ UP _then we'll lose, I can't concentrate when ya keep goin' so deep into yer wallowing._

"Arroyo" He shouted-rolling his r's and sounding completely different than in my head- "Use Water Gun to spray the area, then use Acid Armor to blend in." He said seriously.

Marveling at the genius contained within yet _another_ deceptively simple and effective plan, it was all I could do to stare at the tide of battle shifting before my-our?-very eyes as Onix was unable to even detect where Arroyo had gone.

As Onix flailed about in obvious confusion and anger, He smirked slightly. "Arroyo, Water Pulse from behind 'em."

What Onix hadn't realized, and what caused Brock's eyes to bulge like saucers fit to feed a king, was Onix was still dripping _water_. _And Arroyo had taken advantage of it._

Popping up on _top_ of the giant rock snake from the puddles left in his wake, Arroyo used a point blank Water Pulse to chip Onix's head crest and force the powerful beast finally collapse.

Brock glanced at the Pokeball in his hand a bit dubiously, yet released a Geodude all the same, resolute in not giving up.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw. Follow up with Rollout."

The water had mostly soaked into the ground by this time, leaving Arroyo without an easy escape. I felt my face shift into a small frown, hearing echoes of something along the lines of _pincer method or_ _hidden bullet_ , whatever those meant. "Arroyo, take the Rock Throw and use Water Gun in front of where Geodude goes."

When Geodude threw the rock and threw himself into the air already spinning, there was no time to yell anything about watching out, and Arroyo had closed her eyes to take the hit better.

Hearing Arroyo whine in pain and struggle to get back up, we both felt a tightness in our chest for a moment. Our thoughts on the same page for once, we narrowed our eyes and pulled out the second Pokeball, the one the battle would now hinge on. Without a moment more of hesitation, we released the purple and blue menace that would seal the Geodude's fate.

Remembering the last time we heard Arroyo's cries, at that river bank, neither of us were in a particularly forgiving mood. "Sting." He paused, glancing back for a moment at the tone. Face stretched into a scowl, we left the rest to him. "Give it all you've got."

His eyes widened momentarily, then he gave a mischievous smirk seeing the crossed arms. He tensed his whole body for just a moment as Brock gave me the first move.

Then he disappeared.

Brock's eyes narrowed at my impassive state, realizing he'd get no hints about what was going to happen. "Geodude, put your back to a rock and wait for him with Mega Punch."

Smothering a cheshire grin was easy enough what with Him being in control, but even with his near impassiveness, it still threatened to split my face in two. _If I need a name for you to call me by,_ he thought quietly, disturbing my vindictively happy thoughts for a moment, … _Split will do just fine_.

 _Works for me._ I thought right back, blood boiling in anticipation. This was going to be good.

The first sign of Sting's reappearance was the noise of Geodude's cry as he was pelted with shrapnel, despite it not hurting him too much, being a rock type, is _was_ moving quite fast.

If Sting couldn't pierce their hides, who cared? Make the environment do all the work.

Slipping back into Quick Attack-Agility still running strong for the moment-Sting got to work cornering Geodude just where he wanted him with a Slash here and there, not enough to really damage Geodude but plenty to ward him off trying to move anywhere, lest he be knocked off course and do the work for Sting.

Pinned between another rock and a hard claw and looking around himself warily, when the rock shattered he punched right through the shards, expecting to hit the flying menace. When he hit nothing but air, he skidded to a stop and looked around.

"Nobody ever looks up, do they Brock?" As he tried to shout a warning to Geodude, he looked back and realized that Sting had used an age old trick, bait and switch.

"Using the shards as a distraction, hmm? Good strategy. Just don't rely on the same trick every battle." He sighed and recalled Geodude, murmuring something before he put the ball back into his belt. "Here is the Boulder Badge, take it and get your Pokemon back to get healed up." He said, smirking down to me.

"Thanks." I said, a savage grin finally cutting my face in half. "Do this again sometime?"

At that he just laughed. "Maybe when you have all your badges, then we can battle for real."

Arroyo and Sting were being checked up on by Nurse Joy, but Sting would be fine, if exhausted. Using Agility, Quick Attack, _and_ Harden to augment all of his physical capabilities at once was no easy feat, even if they were imperfect and could only last for twenty seconds or so before needing to lay down and rest for just as long.

Nothing that good without drawbacks I suppose. At least I could wait outside in my thoughts, not wanting to be inside with all the people in the building.

I sighed and began pacing in an awkward mix of and contentment, emotions whirling through my mind faster than an Accelgor. On one hand, Brock was defeated and there was potential to make a deal with a powerful tactical mind.

On the other hand, the others had gone ahead without me, and seemed to have no trouble of their own defeating Brock with several days less training.

They also didn't need to rely on strength that wasn't theirs, meaning that I was _weak._

Weighing my options with a heart heavier than one who just won a gym badge should need to drag along, I thought on what the next course of action would be. I couldn't charge headlong into doing whatever, that would be detrimental do getting anything productive done.

As my mind delved deeper, it roared to life like a machine just getting oil back onto the gears. I felt something seem to slip away, but I paid it no mind. Couldn't be that important.

The whirring gears in the depths of my mind were slightly gnarled, but nonetheless could easily churn through ideas at a breakneck pace when all was running with the attention of the CEO.

Potential solutions fluttered in on soft wings of velvet.

The ideas weak enough to need to flutter were crushed before they had a chance to distract me.

The most promising solutions were, at the moment, split three ways; train mercilessly until the gyms could be breezed through, stumble through the land and travel to then defeat gyms systematically, or simply camping out in the deep parts of forests and caves to live amongst and defeat the most experienced and powerful Pokemon in the area.

Attempting to narrow the options further, I was still torn on which course of action to select.

Feeling a large mental disturbance, I blinked rapidly as my focus was abruptly lost, rising back to the surface in concern.

 _What happened? And why are you in control, Split._ I had given him freedom in the battle, but I still wasn't exactly excited to deal with him.

 _Taking care of your team_ he growled back.

Blinking owlishly within my own head, I sent a small wave of apology back, not concerned with his handling of the Pokemon Center. The less time I had to spend around that many people, the better.

Partially delving back into my thoughts, I slipped just below paying attention and debated over which choice to take.

Eventually fed up with the debate, I asked Split. He hummed for a moment and just suggested an amalgamation of the three which I almost immediately agreed to, through with deliberating against myself.

We would travel, sparring as much as practical while we went, challenging whatever trainers we could find. Occasionally camp out if a place seemed to be around our level, nothing that could wipe us out. Hopefully.

 _Just don't get anyone killed and you'll be fine. You might not be good at many things, but I assure you that getting people killed is not as easy as it sounds, there's no_ way _you could pull it off accidentally._ Split remarked casually.

"I'll keep that in mind" I mumbled, loathing the idea of looking unstable in the middle of a public place as he handed control back.

Smiling politely and putting up a cheerful facade for the sake of appearances, I couldn't help but let my mind wander just a touch, more than ready to get back to training and working with Numel especially, feeling a touch guilty that he'd been in the ball this whole time.

I quickly thanked Nurse Joy and left, not really caring if I seemed rushed. That was close enough to normal for a kid, it'd pass muster.

Darting over to the rocky base of the mountain range I'd found Numel at, I first released Arroyo, Sting and Skorupi as a fairly soft smile split my face. "Good job in the gym you two, I knew I could count on you. Especially you Arroyo, that was some fancy footwork there in taking down an Onix and continuing on. And Sting, nice job, how was working with a plan instead of _winging_ it?" I grinned mischievously as he just looked exasperated and resigned to dealing with me being insufferable (or more so than usual anyway). As the smile morphed into a small grimace, all three of them paid close attention. "We did good today, to be sure-" shifting uncomfortably, I steeled myself and got it over with-"but that wasn't all me. I _know_ you could tell, Arroyo, I can't even make that sound myself, not the way He said it." I finished bitterly.

Seeing them trade looks with each other, their faces uncertain… hurt. Much more than I expected given how easily I had accepted the entire class of Pallet doing the same.

Shaking my head as if it would help to clear away any concerns, I told them the rest of the bad news. "I'm still impressed with what growth we've had so far, and you guys are doing great don't get me wrong, but right now we need to really get things running." Uncertainty falling away like a thin sheet being cast off as the day begins, I started and got going on a roll, grin steadily growing as I went. "We might not be amazing right now, I'll admit that in the grand scheme of things right now we don't really have anything over anyone else. In that case, it's time to make sure that we _do_. We'll have power and traps set up for those who have only power, and plans layered upon plans for those who can see the traps!"

Suddenly sheepish at my volume moments before, I ducked my head and quieted down a bit. "We… I…" looking to the left I searched for a way to explain this, "My goal, is to become a Ground type master. What I haven't mentioned was why." Practically squirming under the gaze of the three by now, I took a deep breath and smiled, faintly recalling my determination(read: stubbornness) to show the Professor way back when. "It's… It started back when I was little, I'd just heard that there was going to be a new Gym Leader in Viridian. He was fighting Lance, and while Lance had only one Pokemon, even with a champion level Gyarados, you could see that Giovanni was pushing him. I saw that, looked at how no one particularly cared for Ground types and, well here we are." My smile faded as I remembered what the _original_ reason for going out this far was.

"Moving on...The downside of being weaker right now is that we need all the strength we can have on the team. Like it or not, that means we have to figure out a way to work _with_ Numel. Got it?"

Accompanying the inevitable sighs and groans following my declaration, I was glad to see a general resignation among their faces. It meant there was a chance for the team to actually get along.

If I could get Numel to agree to that anyway.

Releasing the fire type once more, I stood in behind the rest of the team. Narrowing my eyes, I gave Numel a withering glare. Glancing up he snorted, but seemed to accept his position for the moment. I took a peek down to see how everyone else reacted

Arroyo was giving her own glare, Sting was sitting impassively with his arms crossed, and Skorupi was baring his fangs and trying to puff himself up like a Meowth from what I could see.

Not bothering to hide a dry smile, I knew that this would go nowhere fast without interruption. "Alright, time to get to training guys. I've got some _fun_ new ideas everyone"

"Numel, you want to join the training or do you want to sit there and watch? Whether or not you stay weak is your choice after all." There was no way to get Gary to work like calling him worse than Ash, why wouldn't it work on Numel?

"You're objective is to defeat Arroyo and Skorupi while Sting is only allowed to use only Cross Poison on you. Ready? Begin."

Skorupi sprang into action, firing off what looked like a hundred poisonous needles straight for the fire type, followed by a large Water Pulse as Sting closed his eyes and focused. Numel snorted again and casually spat an ember right in front of himself, burning away the Poison Sting and nullifying the Water Pulse and creating a haze over the field. As the water vapor drifted over Sting grinned predatorily and Arroyo began to suck in the mist and charge a smaller, more potent Water Pulse in front of herself. Feeling the ground shake beneath our feet, I knew that Numel had a bit of an advantage when the other three couldn't see him, he could just fire off attacks in their general direction and likely hit one, since all of his moves had pretty good area coverage.

I was not all too surprised when I heard Numel growl in anger and see a pillar of flame light temporarily illuminate the haze and reveal that Numel hadn't moved at all for some reason. I decided to dwell on my concern later, happy that Sting was making progress with the powerful poison move under outside of Skorupi's direct tutelage. Once Sting had some real power behind his hits there would be no stopping him for some time.

It was infuriatingly difficult to sit back and watch, but he needed to see where each of them stood to see what they needed to work on.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Sting came hurtling back towards the other two, courtesy of the fairly large chunks of rock surrounded in instantly recognizable bright purple of Ancientpower.

Seeing Numel use more than two moves was encouraging, it meant that he _knew_ a bit of strategy, he just chose not to use it apparently.

The fight resumed moments after Sting was expelled from the cloud of steam, Arroyo took advantage of the light Numel had used to fend off the flying type, forcing the compressed Water Pulse straight towards the angry fire type near the speed of a bullet.

Judging by Numel's enraged cry, he thought it felt like one too.

Seeing Skorupi take his chance and enter the fog, I was surprised by how quiet he managed to be. I suppose being an ambush predator he needed to develop the skill or go hungry. Resolving to not be so air-headed in the future, I waited to see what Numel's response would be.

I should have known, but apparently all four of us had gotten complacent with his sitting back and waiting.

Seeing the golden energy tear through the earth like butter my eyes widened at the power contained in the single crevice as Arroyo was blown away once again. Clenching my fists and shoving my anger down, I walked over to her and checked her for any serious damage. Thankfully for everyone, there was no permanent damage, but she wouldn't be fighting anymore today. There were a few bruises covering her, and it looked like she could at least stand up, but that would come later. For now I recalled her and turned back to the now three Pokemon battle.

Sting had returned and was flitting around the field with Agility and Cross Poison, Skorupi was firing volleys of Poison Sting in the air and directly at Numel like an artillery cannon, keeping him too distracted to intercept Sting. The question became whether or not Sting would be able to deal enough damage with, and subsequently fully _learn_ Cross Poison.

Do or die training certainly _worked_ at times, but being known as and consciously teaching through the method would be… unpleasant for most involved. Often the strategy just ended up with someone getting hurt.

Unless apparently, your name was Numel.

Numel had been using Ember to block all of the Poison Sting volleys, but he'd obviously been angered a whole lot more than any of us had been expected; he exploded just as Sting went in for another slice with a potent Cross Poison.

As the remnants of each Ember went flying back with the explosion of the Lava Plume as Skorupi scrambled to outpace the fire hurtling towards him, doing so without much difficulty. Sting was not so lucky as to escape unscathed, but neither was he down for the count just yet, thankfully that endurance training with Squirtle had done some good seeing as he was still standing.

Numel looked to be dead tired by this point, he obviously wasn't used to drawn out fights like Sting and Skorupi were practically _designed_ for considering their abilities in poison.

With Numel panting for breath, Sting was promptly able to sweep past with a Cross Poison ready and finish the battle, causing Numel to collapse. It seemed as though Numel was used to being able to overpower his opponents nigh instantly however, as until his last hurrah with _learning Lava Plume_ , he had been dropping off in power. Not by a huge amount, but it was noticeable.

With 3 of the four team members being exhausted at the moment, power training wouldn't be a great idea.

"Let's get to some speed training going, shall we Skorupi?"

"Yeah, thanks Professor, i-it's no problem, I'll be fine, thanks." Smile finally dropping, I dragged a hand across my face and flopped down on the bed. _At least they moved call centers into the rooms a while back._

Shaking away whatever 'traces' of melancholy remained, I sat up. "Alright, we got Mt. Moon, into Cerulean, and into Saffron, no I'll skip that one for now, Surge would be… easier… unless he has something planned for Ground types, which he certainly will thinking about it, gah I'll just cross the bridges when I get there."

Givin- Allowing time for the reformulation of my plans on where to go, I moved onto thinking about what the team would need to stay relatively balanced in terms of variety, as far as a- er, _mostly_ monotype team could go anyway. There were over 500 species of Pokemon, so there were a _lot_ of choices available, and that was when I began truly looking through what the pokedex had in detail.

A little known fact among most new trainers, Pokemon from Hoenn and Sinnoh could quite easily be found in regions other than their home, people travelled all the time and once in a while Pokemon had… their… seasons with each other, creating a population in the region, regardless of whether the trainer leaves in the end, and many Pokemon migrated so it was not uncommon to find them in the region, it was just not common for the non-natives to be as well adapted, meaning they were scarcer due to competition in the environment.

There were two major upsides to this however. One, the Pokemon would naturally be stronger in order to survive in harsher conditions, and two, inexperienced trainers would have little to no idea of their capabilities.

Belatedly realizing that at the moment this described the _entire team_ , I immediately scrolled through the Pokedex for powerful moves to teach the party.

"Alright guys," I called out with a mischievous grin, "now we have some experience in fighting another trainer, and since you guys are all native to regions other than Kanto, no one around us is going to know what you can do." The grin widened into more of a disturbingly wide, predatory thing with too many teeth. "And if they don't know what you can do, they'll have no idea what hit them." Chuckling ominously, everyone leaned away for the moment.

Everyone except, if your name was Numel.

He leaned _in_ and seemed to be chuckling himself.

Glad to see someone eager for some action, I got on with the moves.

"Numel, you're going to be working on perfecting the Lava Plume that you just showed off yesterday and strengthening Sting's resistance to fire. And touching up on Earth Power to make sure it's not tiring for you, since you obviously have the power and speed portions down."

When Sting looked at me indignantly, I gently chided him, "Well you _can_ skip out, if you wanna be the one who tries to stall out but gets taken out with a single hit… That's fine, you'll just need to triple your speed training to make sure you can't get hit if that's the case." He nearly dragged Numel away, Numel baffled at why he went ramrod straight once he heard the word 'triple.'

"And Sting," I called before he left, "Try and see if you can start with Fury Cutter, I'll show you the Pokedex example right after Arroyo and Skorupi are sorted out."

Speaking of, "Arroyo-this is going to sound weird but let me explain alright? Good, now I want you to try and take a Water Pulse, and make it into a… well try and form it into more of a beam, like Water Gun but with a lot more pressure alright? This is the first step to learning an _extremely_ powerful water move, that combined with another move will make you be able to take down even Steel types with ease."

Hearing her excited chirp, my face softened and I wished her luck.

Turning back to the last member of the party, I asked if he could manipulate dark type energy well yet. When he coated his fangs in it and gnashed his teeth into a nearby tree, slicing through nearly half the trunk, I figured that was _pretty frickin' good_. "Now the main idea is just to coat your claws in dark energy, and… well in your case just try and slide the stingers in so that if they try to flee then the have to rip the claws out of themselves, dealing more damage." I said, not particularly disturbed that this could have dark implications. Not like throwing fire and giant blasts of energy that could vaporize mountains were any safer.

"You want to see the pokedex demo? Or just try it yourself?" Skorupi nodded at the latter, so I shrugged and set off for Sting, he would definitely need some help seeing as he'd never messed with bug energy before. _I bet Skorupi could help him if he really needed it…_

Finding Sting and Numel already trading blows, I stood by the tree and simply observed.

For once, Numel seemed relatively calm, though that might just be the step past anger and into deadly quiet for all I could tell.

Sting was-I blinked a few times at what he was doing actually- Sting… was using Poison Sting straight up and then using the few moments when Numel fired off an ember to rush in and use Cross Poison, looking like he was aiming for Numel's hump and using a short range projectile version of the attack.

Staring in awe at how quickly Sting had begun using an advanced technique that he created all on his lonesome, I interrupted after Numel used Lava Plume instead of Ember to fend off Sting's 2-pronged attack. "Hey guys, good work. In both problem solving with Lava Plume, and in using Cross Poison as a projectile." I grinned and showed Sting the demonstration, him nodding along as he swiped experimentally and got nothing at first. He warbled something to Numel and ambled over in the direction of Skorupi, probably seeking help on manipulating bug energy.

Things were good.

Things were not good.

The Professor had called back, scouting with a wireless camera on Charizard, Arcanine following along with him for back up, and they discovered that not only were there Crawdaunt swarming around the rivers at times, they all seemed to go back to a central location somewhere out in the ocean. He couldn't figure out where since Charizard alone would be quite vulnerable, especially if whoever was the root of this had other resources or, Arceus forbid, and entire _organization_ behind this… whatever it was.

It was a bit worse when you considered that Crawdaunt might just be scouts… but that path only led to worrying about something I had no control over, so just like in the lessons long past, I shut it out and ignored the friends who had… not abandoned… _No no! None of that_ I banished the thought of it and _breathed_. Focusing on my Pokemon and what we could do by the time the League Conference rolled around at the end of the year.

A grin crept it's back into my face like a lazy cat, settling there and unwilling to move any time soon.

 _Time for our next challenge_ … I thought, opening up the Map I'd gotten from the desk of the Pokemon Center.

"Mount Moon."

Done with brooding and pondering for the moment, I called everyone back to check today's progress by midday.

"Sting, you're up first. Show us what you've got on-" I paused, searching around for a suitable target in the clear we'd stopped in for lunch, "those trees." Pointing off into the distance, he looked back and nodded.

Seeing a slight tension in the shoulders of my faithful flying friend as he took a breath, I called out to give a soft grin and a nod, confident in Sting's skills. The results of today would determine whether the party was ready to move on to the real powerful moves that they could learn, which while in and of themselves where nice, they probably wouldn't be able to use such powerful moves in combinations for quite some time due to the sheer power draw such moves held. Which was fine. Who needs a whole 13 button combo when you have just two buttons that do more damage?

I refocused as Sting slipped into Agility with little effort, the fruits of the speed training coming to light despite how much everyone seemed to despise it.

The first tree that was hit with the move had a large dent in it, similar to a single axe thumping into the wood. _Isn't Fury Cutter supposed to be a move that ramps up in pow-_ My slight frown morphed into a slack jaw at the image the second tree presented as I heard a loud _crRRRRRACK!_

The second tree was not chopped as it there had been two axe hits, or three, or even four.

The tree was completely chopped down, laying on it's side. Ready to congratulate and praise Sting on his _exponential_ attack increase of the move instead of simply doubling, I walked forward before Sting let out a loud cry, seemingly alarmed at something. Instinctively stepping back, I was rewarded with only being sprayed by a light helping of dirt out of the ground, courtesy of the trench dug by Sting's form digging into the ground and grinding to a slow halt as he made it to the other side of the clearing, dizzy but otherwise appearing completely fine.

I glanced at the top of the treeline to see if any trees were about to fall, knowing that none had quite yet due to the obvious and _loud_ cracking sound made by the last falling tree. It was then that Skorupi tugged on my pant leg, pointing to the base of one of the trees near where Sting shout out of, and I _almost_ missed what he was trying to tell me when I saw a thin dark line through the trunk only a few feet off the ground.

Slowly coming to a realization that, really, at this point, after seeing what Fury Cutter could do on the first two strikes, it _shouldn't_ have surprised me. But it did nonetheless, because Sting essentially had so much force behind his third strike that it _atomized the section of the tree_.

The tree was still standing as if nothing was wrong, but when I got curious about how much Sting really sliced through, it toppled over with almost no effort on my part, meaning that the entire trunk had to have been severed from the base. With enough speed to complete the cut before the tree had time to absorb the force of his claw reaching it.

Marveling at just how _amazing_ Sting really was, even at this early point in the journey, and I knew. Unquestionably, the flying type would be both my Ace and one of the biggest threats on the team to _any_ given opponent.

Shaking my head at the sheer power and versatility Sting had shown today, learning Cross Poison, learning to use a _projectile_ version of Cross Poison, learning Fury Cutter and _accidentally_ atomizing a tree. I spun around to the other three, grinning like a madman. "Well, that was one way to start us off, eh guys?" _He will be quite the Ace if I say so myself, I've never seen such a young Pokemon grow so quickly without…_ extenuating… _circumstances._ Split purred in my mind as Arroyo showed considerable progress in creating a higher pressure stream of water, If I had to guess I'd say it was about 40 to 50 percent of what would be needed for the move to be a true threat, but at the moment it worked just fine, most enemies would have to get in close to do any real damage due to her soft body's… jiggli-ness? Hmm.

Whatever it was called, it softened impacts without sufficient force behind them, giving a minor defense against ranged attacks.

And they gave time for Arroyo to react with Acid Armor, but there would be no point in revealing all my cards in the first strike of the match.

Turning back to see Skorupi pulling off a polished Pursuit onto a poor rock, I asked if he thought he would be ready for two, shall we say, well known moves, seeing as he had an amazing grasp on dark type energies and knew Cross Poison, proving that he had at least most of the power necessary for the second move.

Smiling at the work put in and the results gained, I was happy with today's progress, and when Numel came up to show his own progress without even a growl, I was positively _elated_!

He in quick succession: blew up, fired off a disgustingly strong Earth Power that upturned almost four separate trees, snorted in amusement at us being disheveled and covered in ash, and promptly walked back to his spot and nearly collapsed.

Coughing the smoke away, I congratulated Numel on his success in the power of both moves. "The only thing we need to work on now is being able to use more than two of those in a fight." I said dryly. _Baby steps. At least he's got all the_ fire _-power you'll need._ Split commented with much merriment.

I just sighed and went back to looking at what moves would be best to begin learning before the day was over.

 **A/N**

 **Oh hi again.**

 **Some** _ **issues**_ **arose irl and I uh… yeah… y'know how sometimes you have an epiphany, get some amazing idea, and then do it all at once with no real plan? Yeah that doesn't work for stories beyond the first chapter. Basically, if you guys ever want to write yourselves (hey, you might, it's what I did after almost two years of saying I'd never write, you never know), just know that you should actually plan out-at bare minimum-what you want the end to be(or at least the end of some life-changing part for the character I guess), and** _ **plan it out**_ _ **beforehand**_ **.**

 **That's about it for now, hope you guys have a good Summer and enjoy!**

 **tHat'n'Clogs**

 **P.S. When** **A** **G** **rounded** **V** **iew hit 10 reviews I'll tell you guys how my name came about.**

 **Also I'm going to probably just call it AGV at this point. Not sure how that sounds really but we'll see. Later.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

 **Last chapter was a bit of a calmer one. Yeah… that was last chapter. Testa has some…** _ **issues**_ … **that he'll need to overcome on this journey.**

 **Enjoy (I promise that his issues get better… for a given definition of better…*cough maybe less cringy COUGH*)**

 **I don't own Pokemon. Oh well.**

After getting through yesterday's training, all four team members were exhausted. At that point I went ahead and bought some Sitrus berries from a vendor in Pewter for the start of the season. Everyone was cheered and gobbled them down, happy to have improved _and_ gotten delicious berries for it. The next day I set out for the base of Mt. Moon, perfectly aware that trainers would be swarming the place to train for Brock.

Or at least… they should've been.

I was staring around in confusion at the lack _any_ of trainers anywhere nearby, when suddenly hearing footsteps I frantically looked around and hid in a patch of thick brush near the mountainside, a bit afraid that I'd look like that weird guy just glancing around for no reason. The people approached at a leisurely pace, seeming completely carefree about all the world.

No sane trainer would ever do that without some important reason. It was practically _beaten_ into us with all the textbooks we had to go through, time and time again, they stressed to always be on guard. Often times several times within a passage to be careful when dealing with a situation.

 _ **Begs the question of why.**_ Split commented, suspicious but not forthcoming with his… was that fear? _Alright, answer me this Split, is this one going to be worse than that time at the ranch where we almost got run over?_

 _ **Boy, if**_ **that** _**is your worst case then you may want to go back to Pallet.**_ He said dryly, as I just now noticed that he wasn't using an accent.

Beginning to sweat the possibilities, I made sure to stay as quiet as possible as they passed, not even willing to glance up and possibly catch their attention with-

"Did you see that guy's face? pfffff-HA!" One of them snorted in glee.

"Yes, for the third time, I did. We all did wise-guy. Now shut up."

"Aw c'moooon man, no need to be so down. Not like these newbies can even give us an entertaining fight, there's nothing to worry about. Besides, I saw you laughing at that eye-offending red hair lit up in flames. He might have even looked cool if not for the screams that twisted his face"

I froze hearing this, and almost shook it off, not wanting to consider the possibility when the second one spoke up again.

"The only thing about him that could even come close to being considered 'cool' on that guy was his damned team. That Ampharos was a monster."

I lost it. I was done with this waiting around _bullshit_ and I ran out to fight, blind with rage at the implications of what those two said. I could hear Split shouting something, trying to wrest control but the roar of the flames of anger was far too strong for anything but a slight headache.

Ignoring it, my face slipped into the cold mask, devoid of anything but a thin-lipped frown. I fumbled with my sweatshirt pockets for a moment, unwilling to make a loud noise and take away from the part of hunting I enjoyed the most. These bastards were going to _pay_.

The mask cracked momentarily as a crazed grin slid onto my face, back tingling as I recalled all of the good times there were, back when he cared. Back when they were still there instead of gone.

I shoved both the pit of despair and the crazed smile into the dark depths, _I'll deal with it later,_ I told myself for the hundredth time. Right now, I want some satisfaction.

Finally whipping out a Pokeball, I released the one who would be able to help the best in this situation. I asked him to shadow those two and stay around them in somewhat of a circle, throwing rocks from behind whenever a bush rustled in front of the two. He nodded hesitantly, but didn't question it and got to work.

I followed them from a bit behind and to the left, so I could see their full black outfits, but not the front. Not like it mattered.

They were going to suffer anyway. I made a quiet gurgling sound in the back of my throat like a quiet stream. _Ju~st_ enough for them to hear it, but not enough to startle them. Not yet.

I kept it up and followed them around for almost ten minutes, then abruptly cut out the noise. Immediately, both of them tensed up, looking around in confusion. Poor fools probably didn't even realize what they thought was wrong.

After another couple minutes, I firmly grabbed a tree and shook it, making them turn around which also caused a small rock to hit one of them on the back of his head.

"What in the… why the hell are you throwing pebbles at me?"

The second one sounded relatively calm, but wary all the same. "That wasn't me,"

Grinning in anticipation, I had crept over to the opposite side as they focused all of their attention near the tree that I'd shook. I snickered quietly, making them turn every which was as they searched. They were good and tense now, and seeing this I stepped out of the brush.

"Wait!" I called outwith wide, innocent eyes, knowing full well that their own would lock onto me the second I was out of the brush.

Smirking, I allowed the crazed look to creep into my eyes, thankfully lessening the pounding headache I had just a touch as they began to slowly reach for their Pokeballs.

"Let's begin, shall we," My lip began to curl into a smile before I turned it into a snarl. "Rockets?"

Whipping out a Pokeball before they could respond, I picked the one who would enjoy this the most. It would be quite fun after all, and the more the merrier.

"Use Lava Plume," I spat without a hint of pity.

As their Ekans and Drowzee coalesced, they quickly wished that they _hadn't_ when they were blasted with a wave of intense fire, leaving scorch marks and instantly knocking them out.

The first Rocket gained a giddy smile of his own, utter madness in his eyes as the taller one only eyed his partner and backed up, not wanting to get hit with that wave of fire that the Pokemon had blocked for him and his ally.

I turned my full attention to the first as he grabbed another Pokeball and sent out a Golbat, still eager for some fun of his own.

I glanced at Numel, knowing how he was with his power allocation. He was breathing a bit heavier than usual but it looked like he'd listened for once in the face of two enemies.

"Make sure it can't hit you, use Ember to wall it off and Ancientpower to take it out."

The Golbat I hadn't even watched be released swooped in as Numel spat quick little sparks on the ground and focused on gathering energy for the rock type attack, and as Numel grunted and let off the tiniest pulse of a Lava Plume, only barely enough to reach around himself; igniting the sparks that exploded into large pillars, burning the flying type as he screeched and backed off immediately.

I was very happy to see Numel's new technique working, since he had no real stamina he needed to conserve it at every chance he could get. Why not lure in the enemy to deal even more damage _and_ save energy?

The Ancientpower burst through the remnants of the flames, barreling into the scorched Golbat and knocking it to the ground as the Grunt began to back up and adopt a nervous look on his face.

"Looking nervous doesn't work when your eyes scream 'walk forward and see what happens' you know," I said with a deepening frown. I might be angry but sudden changes in demeanor like that just don't happen. I should know.

I snapped my fingers and loudly exclaimed as my expression flipped faster than the delicious pancakes he used to make, "If your trap is seen through it never ends well. It may in fact, _Sting_ quite badly."

As the sound of a body dropping echoed out right in front of me, I stepped over the body that fell out of the trees and brought out Skorupi. "Now listen carefully, Rocket," I said in a sickly sweet tone. "Either you are going to tell me what the hell you guys are doing in Mount Moon that you need a damned patrol, or Skorupi here is going to practice using Pursuit on your sorry ass as I allow you to run. It'll hurt all the worse and fill you with even more despair when you fall to your knees and die of the potent poison he has." I snarled, slipping back into the deathly sweet tone near the end.

His eyes hardened and he smirked after a moment of looking back and forth between me and Skorupi. "You're just a new trainer, you don't have the guts to do anything to me." He said confidently.

I simply smiled. "You're right," I said quietly, smile widening as he grew confused and a bit of fear crept into his eyes. "I don't." My amusement growing, it along with my smile abruptly cut off as I gave the next order. "Numel. Ember his hair."

He just snorted and fired off a spark that lit the man's hair up like a candle.

The man's eyes looked like a bug types' compound eyes that bulge out of their head as he frantically rolled around screaming bloody murder, and shoved his head into the ground. I heard a loud crackling behind me and turned to see the brush igniting. I distractedly tossed out Arroyo's Pokeball and asked her to put out the fires before they got out of hand.

As he stopped screaming and flopped onto the ground like he'd run a marathon I slowly turned back to him with closed eyes, a tilted head, and a small smile that promised pain. "Still care to test that theory?"

When he spilled like a cup of coffee, telling about the goal of "capturing trainers" and "shipping off their Pokemon" to someplace he was unaware of. I believed him solely because no one would tell the full plan to grunts, especially patrol grunts like these. Speaking of patrol… "When's your next check in."

"Eh? W-what check in, I don't know of any check-ins around here," He mumbled

"Numel."

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! It's five minutes from now, but we both have to be there, and with him being knocked out, the whole of Team Rocket will come down on your head!" He said, brimming with confidence once more.

I shrugged. "Okay. This'll Sting a bit." I gestured with my head, confusing the grunt as he seemed to remember his partner's fall just before his neck went limp as his vision was filled with a bright pink and blue, then faded into unconsciousness.

Running a hand down my face, I contemplated my options at this point. I could run back to Pewter, try and get some help, and probably have them gone with all of the trainers' Pokemon, or I could run in there and try to fight. The former sounded like a better idea, but, the thought of tens of trainers left without their precious Pokemon was… heartbreaking.

Sighing, I turned back to the team. "Alright guys, we have five minutes to plan out what we're doing to get those Pokemon back to their trainers."

Usually, walking into a cave one knew was filled with violent criminals was considered a worst case scenario, or at LEAST a bad idea. Even more so when said criminals were part of a larger organization.

The events happening were not usual.

As such, when there were no people hiding near the entryway, I had to signal Sting to stay hidden and keep trailing for when I did need his help.

The only way this had any chance of working was if we could slip past all the grunts on the way to wherever they were keeping the Pokemon, yet another obstacle to success.

The odds may not have been in our favor, but a try wouldn't end up so badly if Numel could take on two grunts by himself, right? My mind was not the slightest bit reassuring if my clenched teeth were any indication.

Creeping further into the caves, I tensed at the slightest sounds, aware that one wrong move could disrupt the whole plan in an instant, _especially_ when they relayed that the outer patrol that I'd taken care of didn't report; I needed to be fast. As patrols passed by, I was lucky enough that there was always a side passage nearby to hide in and escape detection.

Reaching a brightly lit room, I stopped and hovered near the entrance, aware that the next round shouldn't be back to this spot for another ten minutes.

Hearing a commotion further in, I crept closer, unwilling to go too far but insatiably curious. I had to slap a hand to my mouth to muffle the gasp that would have made this whole trip less than worthless as Sting was dragged into a side cave that, assumedly, held all of the Pokemon that had been captured.

The only hope was to make it into that cave, the question left was how, since without knowing the layout beforehand, the was no way to plan for this step and prepare a reaction.

Figuring that the patrols would swap out again in just a few minutes, I figured that would be my chance, just as people got ready to head back out and relax, and let their guard down.

I gripped the Pokeball tightly, worried and scared out of my wits about everything that could go wrong in the next few minutes. Closing my eyes and breathing deeply, I felt something wrong and turned around to the grunts trying to sneak up on me. Eyes widening in panic, I immediately tossed the Pokeball from my hand in front of me to reveal the loyal poison type who had saved me in the last does situation and had the best stealth skills along the party. He was meant to be able to sneak over and cause a distraction so I could slip past, but that plan crashed and burned moments ago.

"Quickly!" I shouted frantically, knowing that whatever happened now, the entire cave would know, "slip into Agility and knock out those grunts! They caught Sting!"

Skorupi tensed at those last words, knowing full well that meant there was no backup if things went wrong. Or in this case, worse.

I left those two to him for a moment as I enjoyed around and released Numel, but with his still being tired from fighting there other two grunts, there was no way he'd be able to do anything but stall for a few moments."Hold them off for just a minute! It'll be fine in a minute guys just hang on for me!" I shouted in panic, knowing there would be one shot at this and if anything else went wrong, that was it. I was done, all the young trainers in here were done, and every last one of our precious Pokemon would be gone, probably forever.

Limbs surging with adrenaline, I sprinted over to the side cave in a mad rush, trusting both team members to distract them for just the few seconds that I would need to make it across the cave.

A few attacks came flying my way, but in jumping over there rocky insides of the cave, I put myself outside of the trajectory of most, only getting stuck with a few glancing blows that I could shrug off with more adrenaline than a newly evolved Machamp lifting a stampeding Mamoswine.

Finally reaching the room, I noticed a scientist seemingly cataloging all of that Pokemon they had captured, unaware of my presence courtesy of the earbuds jammed into his head. I snorted and quickly brought and Arroyo, asking her to water gun him into the wall, and with all the pressure training done yesterday, it was more than enough to knock him into the wall and unconsciousness.

Grabbing as many Pokeballs as I could of there shelves, I yelled out to all of the Pokemon previously trapped within the confines of the shelves, "Quickly, go! Find your trainers, work together to free them and get revenge on Team Rocket!"

With the chaos that followed, I scrambled to release all of the Pokemon in the room, searching every nook and cranny for one in particular.

Finally grasping the right one, I released my oldest friend on the team and welcomed him back. Snapping back into being serious, I doubted that Numel was still able to fight very well, especially considering that all of his attacks were wide area ones, leaving him unable to continue without damaging most of his new allies as well.

Preparing to charge through the chaos and point out the grunts for Sting to take out, the noise began to change from angry shouts and the vengeful cries of Pokemon, it suddenly shifted to fearful Pokemon cries and cruel laughter.

A shiver rushed down my spine at the thought of what could cause hundreds of angry Pokemon to flee, and I was not disappointed at all when the monstrously large Weezing floated into view, freezing in fear and throwing a hand out to stop Sting from shooting forward to fight it. If all of those Pokemon feared it, there would be a good reason.

The thing would murder Sting before he could do any damage, Immunity or no. That, of all things, was not going to happen while I had any say.

"What do you people want, why are you taking these Pokemon?!" I shouted desperately, hoping Skorupi could slip away at the very least. Then he might be able to survive and maybe even make it back to Viridian to live out a quiet life.

A man in a black suit with a cap on covering most of his aquamarine hair casually walked out from around the doorway, though it was easy to tell he was no grunt. No one at that level would have the ability to mask such cold fury under a cruel smile without any other tells.

"Why pray tell, do you want to know, boy? It's not like it matters what your answer is but I am curious as to what would make one such as yourself, who was smart enough to attempt stealth to get into the base of operations, to go ahead and attack us? The smart choice would have been to keep your nose out of business that isn't yours." He glared, eye boring into my soul as I balled up my fists and tried to balance not panicking and coming up with a plan to last even a moment longer.

Split? Split! I need help, something, anything, just some way to get out of here alive, without sacrificing the team. I cried out in my mind, out of options at this point.

I… His voice echoed with a tinge of regret, have no way out. This might be the end of the line. For what it's worth, your not as bad as most new trainers I've seen. And I have seen many trainers in my time.

Looking the man in the eyes, I turned my eyes down with a pained grimace and asked him the all-important question at the moment. "And if I surrender? What happens to my Pokemon?"

His eyes lit up with pure glee for just a second before skillfully masking it with a calm facade. "And what do you think will happen if you go ahead and come quietly?" He asked teasingly, enjoying the situation.

"I would hope that they would be let go, but knowing my situation I'm not sure if that's what we can hope for, I assume you've taken the precaution of filling the other room with a significant amount of gas to poison anyone trying to escape?" I asked with a small tilt of the head, still having a grimace marring my features for the moment.

"Yeeees, well, you see, foolish boy, by invading our facility back here and making all of these poor Pokemon run around like headless chickens instead of being in their little storage containers, you must be punished. And I happen to have just the best idea in all the world, and you'll get to play a part!" He exclaimed, no longer hiding the cruelest of grins as it grew wider than ever. "All you have to do is choose which two of your party will die, and the rest can run free. Sound fun?"

I looked past him, pupils shrinking down and clenching every muscle in my body to not do something even dumber and charge at this bastard for suggesting this idea.

"You said in the party, yes?" I asked carefully.

He just laughed, not caring in the slightest. "I suppose that I shall give you that slip up, there can be no real harm done when you have no Pokemon."

"I'm the first and the second… give me a few minutes." I sat down against a wall, running a hand through my hair. Heedless of Sting's cries as I recalled him.

The man looked surprised and contemplative for a moment, obviously not expecting this outcome.

"You've got guts kid, you sure you wouldn't like to join us?" As I shot him a glare that could kill a Gastly, he hid a flinch by smirking. "I suppose that was a long shot, oh well. Just make sure you choose quickly, I won't wait forever on this generous offer you know."

Rubbing my head in an agonizing decision, I could only swallow thickly and release Sting back into the world for comfort, burying my head and protectively squeezing him in my arms. If he saw a few tears drop, I knew he wouldn't judge me for it as I whispered into his ear.

After a few minutes had passed, Petrel had grown bored and released a disgusted grunt. "Alright kid, that's enough time. Better tell me your choices."

"I…" beginning hesitantly, I did my best to keep my voice steady, clearing all thoughts but talking to him for the time being. "I choose to sacrifice myself and-ONSLAUGHT!" I screamed, desperately sprinting and leaping the few feet separating myself and the hulking poison type that would be able to crush Sting flat at the moment it took to focus and call upon the three move combo.

As Sting finally slipped into Quick Attack after setting up the other two effects, dashing through the doorway and escaping towards the mouth of the cave. With how rare Shellos were, and the intoxicatingly exotic power of Numel, there was no way they'd let either of them free. Skorupi- I'd admit, they probably wouldn't have a good reason to keep him. But why take even less valuable Pokemon like the staples of the Nidorans, Weedle and Caterpie lines, or the odd Geodude. No, Skorupi would not be allowed to escape either.

I coughed and gagged violently as the rancid smog of Weezing began to burn a track through my lungs, still refusing to let go. They would get their sacrifice, but, Sting would escape, at the very least…

All I had the strength left to say was an overly hopeful statement. _Have fun, Sting…_ as everything faded to black.

Waking up to a dark ceiling as Zubat's quiet calls echoed throughout the air, I could only stare up sleepily at the dark… ceiling? _Oh wait,_ I thought, realizing that the air was too fresh and cold for this to be inside the caves. _How did I get outside?_ I asked sluggishly, not remembering anything that had happened since we finally named Sting's technique, settling on Onslaught, since that was probably going to be the main use for it.

Onslaught, why did that fill me with so much sadness…? _**You've been out for quite a while kid. Almost a day by my count.**_ Split said cautiously, as if worried.

 _What happened to me? Oooohh it feels worse than that time we tried to ride the professor's Dragonite…_ I groaned.

 _ **Yes that's all well and good but can you maybe**_ **stop** _**trying to get us killed? There are two reasons you're alive right now; me, and the young woman who has been behind you listening to your muttering for the past few minutes. Treat her with respect or so help me you will be unable to take a god damned NAP without me kicking you awake from in here.**_

Being the smartass that I am, I _almost_ went ahead and told him that he can't kick me from within my mind, but I was tired and he had saved from dying, so it wouldn't kill me to listen to him when he was giving advice on not dying. Hopefully.

I tried to sit up on the makeshift bed only to quickly be shoved back down. She had hair that looked like a shade of white, but had a blue tint to the long hair, reaching down below her neck and fanning out into what looked like feathers, three spreading out behind her on each side. I groggily realized that she was in fact scolding me the whole time I was looking at her. "-trying to get yourself _killed!_ By all rights, you should be dead. GONE! All of your family, all your friends, all your teachers would never hear from you again, not even knowing what happened to you." Angrily pacing, she looked as if she wanted to say more but cut herself off, adopting a softer look for a moment as she grabbed both shoulders and shook me lightly. "Whatever happens, remember that those people would want you to live."

I was struck by the memory of Sting's cries behind me that happened just minutes ago in my memories, knowing he must have been- "Wh-"coughing and retching for a moment, she patiently waited until it finally subsided. "What happened to Sting? My-my Gligar, he's out there somewhere, a-and the rest of my team, a Numel, a Skorupi were out, I'm not sure if they took Shellos' Pokeball either," I finished raspily, consumed with worry about leaving them. I was uncomfortably aware that I'd been unable to do any better and actually make a difference for them. "And ahh, what is your name exactly?"

Her expression twitched into surprise, for what reason I couldn't guess but her staring on for a moment was a touch aggravating, but recalling what was said to me about being respectful, I kept my mouth shut this time.

"I'm Kahili, and he's out looking for some firewood right now but your Gligar found me just outside the cave, frantic. He was gesturing all around and thankfully Salvus was there to help me understand. I ran over, took out the Rocket Executive who was in charge and dragged you out of there. Thankfully for you, Sal-my Tropius knows Aromatherapy, so you didn't die to Weezing's poison. You're welcome. But…" she trailed off, "I don't know where the rest of your team could be, most of the Pokemon have led their trainers trickling in and grabbed their Pokeballs to leave."

Running a hand across my belt, I sighed when all four Pokeballs were still there, meaning all I had to do now was-"Oh no you don't, mister 'I'm going to jump at a Weezing and hope nothing goes wrong,' you are not going into that cave to look for your Pokemon." I was an instant away from protesting when she held out her hand. "I will get them for you, just relax and don't die while I'm gone, got it?"

When I shrank back a bit and adopted a stubborn look, I was promptly pinned with a mild glare and felt a touch guilty. This was currently warring with my selfish desire to go find them myself and apologize, if only for the sake of my own sanity. They were all that were tethering it here now that the other three had gone ahead. I would do anything to avoid falling apart at the seams a second time, there is no worse fate in my mind.

Shaking myself out of another reverie, I sighed and handed over the Pokeballs, knowing full well that I shouldn't be up and moving directly after inhaling highly toxic gas of all things.  
Knowing I should be resting didn't _help_ anything, it was all I could muster to not run out there and try to find them myself, guilt gnawing like termites in a dying tree.

As a faint whooshing sound echoed out nearby, I huffed and turned back over, not wanting to stare at her Pokemon and be awkward for the short time I'd know any of them.

As something heavy flopped onto my back with a joyous cry, I stiffened and rolled over, swatting at his head. "Can't just run away and be happy, huh?" Unable to stop the genuine smile from spreading across my face, I gave up and smiled wide at Sting.

The one who came back.

Sighing in relief, I chattered about how we would be better, how this wouldn't happen again, and what I had planned next for the team, once they finished learning the more powerful moves.

Seeing him nod along at the ideas, I became increasingly animated in my expressions, eventually spreading out my arms and giving full detailed explanations of why they wou- _will_ be such powerful strategies.

I was abruptly jerked out of a strategy (something pertaining to having Numel do A and then Sting could do B and Arroyo might be able to pull off C if Sting did D at the same time as B and so on) by snickering. I whipped around faster than a speeding bullet and only kept Sting from getting flipped away by holding onto him with both hands like a child's teddy bear.

Upon seeing me, she burst into laughter, doubling over and gasping for breath for minutes before she calmed down enough to stop collapsing repeatedly. Even with a face that still looked like a cherry soda, I was nonetheless displeased about my being taken as a joke.

"It's not that funny you know."

"I'm-no, I'm really not that sorry, that was great." A cruel grin was spread all across her face by this point. "Now kid, you've done pretty well so far from what I can see. Your Numel had a circle of scorched Team Rocket Pokemon around him, so he's obviously powerful. That Skorupi of yours was taking out enemies on the fringes if the Rattata all around the area were any tell. There's just one problem. You could be so much _better_ with them. I can tell that you're having them learn the basics of tougher moves, but they have no battle experience. Gligar's the only one on your team-except maybe that Shellos you have-who has any battle proven mettle." Clearing her throat and straightening up, she grinned and gave a confident grin. "I might be able to tell a bit better if you wanna go for a quick battle once they're healed up, the only condition is that you take them to a Pokemon Center and make sure nothing went permanently wrong. We don't wanna any crippling injuries creeping up."

Easily agreeing to the requirement, I wondered just how strong she was to be able to take on Proton, and without much difficulty. Speaking of, "What happened to Team Rocket anyway?"

Her knuckles clenched in on themselves and it was at this moment, Testa knew, he _fucked up_. "Why, they had a helicopter that they called in to escape. With heavy weaponry on board. _They're going to be missing a limb of their own the next time we see them._ " I was more than tempted to scoot away as she seethed, though from past experience moving would only draw ire when someone was in such a state. Sitting as still as a statue, I murmured to Sting to not move an inch, or we'd both be in for it. Her Rufflet-that until then I hadn't noticed-attempted to calm her down a bit and puffed up when she looked down and away from him.

Brushing aside my hesitation, I stood up and started over at her, grin a mile wide.

"Let's make a promise then. We'll pay 'em back in full. One way or another."

Snorting, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Why not kid. Maybe you'll be good enough to challenge even one of my Pokemon by the time we get there." Her eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't identify before they blinked and stared blankly at the ceiling, the tiniest of grins on her face.

I hated it when grown-ups did that, but I'd let it slide this time. I might as well be nice while I before I slipped up at some point and got into an argument.

Not like respecting someone could ever do any harm, right?

**********************************

The walk to Cerulean was blissfully uneventful, I wanted to be able to keep all our strategies a secret to the last moment, and hopefully do some meaningful damage. There was almost no chance of victory against a trainer of her caliber, I knew.

Wouldn't exactly hurt to get some help from such a trainer though.

"What were you doing at Mt. Moon anyway?"

She tilted her head to the side as I asked the question, all we'd really been doing as we walked side by side was asking questions back and forth, but so far we'd stuck to wider questions like what our goals were or how long we'd been training. "I've been wandering around, I'm looking for a Skarmory but they're so elusive, and almost never show up in Alola."

I could understand that, Skarmory were the premier defensive flying type, and while not as fast as most others, were for the most part impervious to the attacks of other flying types. Unless of course you were talking about dragon and flying types (or the odd Charizard), you would win most aerial battles with a Skarmory.

"So why Gligar, if you don't mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why choose a Gligar as your starter?"

"Wha-How did you know?"

Putting a hand to her face and sighing at the question, she chuckled and responded after a moment of thought, "You know how some people have issues with favoritism of their kids and such? It's like that but quite a bit more subtle. He's definitely your most well rounded Pokemon, and with that… whatever it was technique with Agility, he might be your strongest as well, or at least give Numel a run for his money."

Thinking over it, she was definitely right at the moment, and I needed to get it in gear if I wanted the team to be around the same level as each other, or there'd be a huge gap in between the strength of the team members. "Well, mostly it was… my old man and liking Giovanni. I admire Giovanni, I want to beat him on even _ground_ some day, and my old man was-he used electric types, and he was a complete- err… he wasn't a nice person after mom… i-it's complicated." Trailing off, I clenched my eyes and shut my mouth before I went down that road again.

Kahili on the other hand was nearly having a quiet panic attack on what to say with a kid about to break down in front of her. _Do I comfort the kid? Do-am I supposed to give this kid a hug? He's had a shitty time by the sound of it… probably some issues the brat's gotta work through. Should I give the kid any help here? He seems to be fine with it now but he's- aw crap here it comes, oooohhhhh the shut eyes too. Shit._

"Hey, hey kid calm down, c'mon it's not-you'll-" Sighing heavily, she mumbled "Don't say I didn't warn you," as she drew her hand back.

The resounding SMACK echoed for a moment in the open air, shocking the redhead into quieting down and looking at Kahili in disbelief.

Letting out my own sigh upon looking back at what was about to happen, I was, in fact, a touch grateful that situation had been averted. The method, on the other hand, left much to be desired.

"You didn't have to slap me hard enough to leave a mark for what'll probably be days you know." Recovering from the shock, I nodded gratefully as I gave my dry response.

"Well… lesson learned. Don't get your feelings all out around me, got it brat?"

"Yeah, yeah, Granny,"

Snorting, she laughed abruptly and began the questionnaire anew, once again chatting back and forth with inane topics until we reached Cerulean.

The Pokemon Center was headed by a kindly Nurse Joy as usual, and everybody was fine, though Kahili wrote a note out of my reach and the Nurse frowned but glanced away after a moment. "Ms, you may want to try Erika, or perhaps Lance could help for a time if you are who I think I've heard of, but catching him in his schedule at the moment would be… difficult, to say the least. Best of luck," she finished sorrowfully.

My head hurt from looking back and forth to discern what this was about, to no avail. Mildly annoyed, I resolved to ask after we went back outside.

"Reminds me, kid, what's with the scar on your lower back? Before you freak out, we're just outside a Pokemon Center in the middle of a city, and I needed to make sure you didn't have any more wounds that would kill you after that Weezing crap you pulled."

"Wh-oh. The one over," I gestured to my fairly new wound that would certainly scar, "here? That… there was an accident with Skorupi's tail and it got stuck in my back…"

"Holy shit kid, when did you get checked out for it? It looks like that was the worst doc ever."

"Good thing I'm not a doc then eh?"

She stared with a frown on her lips for a moment, shook her head as if to clear her mind, reached to her belt and grabbed a Pokeball.

As the (relatively) massive grass type appeared, I thought through my options as I looked up to its head, glancing for weak spots over the whole of the enemy's bod-freezing up as I noticed it, I looked at Kahili with wide eyes as it all clicked together.

Her Tropius had a raw, puckered, stump in the where it's front left leg should be.

"Wh-you were being literal on the cave!" I blurted.

With her voice down to a whisper, I nearly had to lean in to catch the words with a sharp bitter edge to them, "Yes, they will quite _literally_ be missing a limb of their own when we get to them."

"Now kid, get on to the fight. You can send out as many as you want, but you'll be fighting Tropius here. Neither of us are much for nicknames, so you'll probably be able to tell what we're doing just before it happens if that's any help, you're going to need it."

Thinking through what Tropius specifically could do, I came up blank. All I remembered was that they're big, tough, and unusually resilient wings could be amazing shields. _**If you want, I could handle it for ya' kiddo.  
**_  
 _In your dreams Split, I'm taking her down myself. It's one Tropius against four separate Pokemon, and even if they're younger three of them have big type advantages._ Smirking as I reached for my belt, I pulled out all four Pokeballs and threw them open.

"Here we go guys, Kahili is going to be tough but it's four on one at the moment, make sure to split up and watch out for those wings, they're great shields and probably pack a nasty punch before they get powered up with a Wing Attack."

Nodding a final time as a wicked grin spread across my face, I sucked in a breath, "Time to go all out you guys; Onslaught into Cross Poison! You too Skorupi, Cross Poison! Ember at its chest! Water Pulse to block its vision! Take it out before it can use it's greater strength to pick you off!"

Kahili just threw her head back and laughed after I was done, an ominous feeling creeping over me as the smoke around Tropius began to spread out giving some cov-!

My eyes grew to saucers as two nearly untraceable green blurs shot out of the cloud, a huge green _monster_ shooting right Sting as he darted away just in time. The two blurs mentioned earlier were Razor Leaves, which I only found out after they'd knocked out both Shellos and Numel in a single hit each.

Finally stopping for a bare second and snorting, I could see the grand green beast of my woes, and more importantly, the fruits of the team's continuous fire.

Singed fronds. The edges were ever so slightly singed, and upon second glance there was a smidge of a purple tinge on another.

Paling faster than a fisherman with a leak in the boat, I frantically gestured for Skorupi to hide and fire Poison Sting volleys by making almost a basketball shoot with my hand. I was no good, but I knew the motion from watching the other kids at least.

There was no saving Sting from the absurd-seriously nothing that big had any right to be so _quick_ ,- grass type as it barreled into the ground type with a Body Slam and took him out like he was a paperweight against an overeager toddler.

All Tropius had to do in order to sniff out Skorupi was fire off a weak Earthquake and listen for the soft squeak that followed as he made contact with the ground once more.

Or rather, he would have made contact with the ground again. Ruthlessly flung into the distance, even rolling after he skidded against the dirt, my eyes widened and I fumbled with his Pokeball to return him as I had already done with the others.

Gritting my teeth, I whispered that everyone had done well and I thanked them before turning to Kahili, with a smirk on her face to rival Gary.

"Remind me how you got such a monster on your team again?"

She fell to the ground giggling and wasn't able to give a coherent answer until after I gave up and sat cross-legged in front of her. "Tropius is by far my weakest team member at the moment, and your basic strategy wasn't great either. The only thing you did well was teaching your team a few combination moves and have Skorupi hide away, albeit a bit late." She grew serious and gave a sharp look at this mention, "Not many trainers would come up with combination moves until after at least their fourth or fifth badge, only focusing on power and variety. That is your strength, now hone it and keep working towards your goal. I'm headin' off to Celadon to see if we can't do anything to make him feel better, take care kid."

************************************************  
 **Omake time ye wee li'l bah-stards  
* 3*  
*Ahem* I'm sure you've heard of these before (google it if not I suppose) so without further ado-  
Enjoy the chaos.  
**

"So let me get this straight."

"Yes?"

"A ten-year-old, with four Pokemon, four unevolved Pokemon, wants to fight the Champion in a televised match?"

"Yeeeeeeees. And?"

"I don't like curb stomps, but I guess if this letter from Oak is any indication he thinks you can get something good for you out of this no way he actually thinks this kid can 'blow me out of the water'… whatever, let's just get this over with."

"Oh yeah, I'd like to request that you send out all of your Pokemon at the same time please. It's a way for this to look _reeeally_ good alright?"

On his knees laughing, the champion wiped away a tear and drew a hand through his oddly spiky scarlet hair. "I suppose I can humor a kid, can't I? Cameras!"

"Breaking news! A brand new trainer from Pallet has made the most audacious move of the century and has challenged…"

Tuning out the background reporting, we both prepared to throw our Pokeballs as matching lazy grins spread across our faces.

 _This is going to be fun._

Releasing a single young Skorupi would _normally_ be considered suicidal in the face of a champion level team, until one realized there was something special about this Skorupi; it knew the most powerful and toxic move known to man.

"The Ranked League Community."

An Unstoppable wave of unsanitary sludge swept over the Fearful team of the Champion, Stunned into Silence. The crashing wave Suppressed all actions they could take, Rooted into place by the Taunts that Flashed through their minds as they were almost Charmed into believing they were invincible by this point.

Knocked away and Flung far and wide, Lance's team was unable to pick themselves up, all regretting how they had been Blinded by their strength.

*******************************************

 **A/N  
Whew! I appreciate the reviews more than you guys know!  
*Ahem* A-anyway, not gonna lie, I have been using line breaks, but apparently, FFN doesn't like them so ah...  
\\(*Q*)/ **  
**(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-that's a war face!)  
Thanks for pointin' that one out for me. I'll go back and update those chapters over this next week or so when I get the chance, but yeah, I quite like how the story is beginning to shape up (it helps to actually plot out my ideas instead of just writing a hugely long tail by ear lol).**

 **O yeah also if you haven't, (somehow, there are like thousands of fics about it honestly)  
Check out The Gamer. It's a webtoon, and even if you've never seen one before, just think of it like a manga. In color. And for free. Hope you guys look forward to seein' this story later!**

 **Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo. this A/N is just about if u wanna write yourself, so if that's not your thing then you should read more. Or just go to the chapter lol. Anyway: writing is at** _ **bare minimum**_ **five to ten times more difficult than you think it is. How is this solved? (HINT: Use the** **global** **search tool that has 99% of all info you may even need in your life) Just wanted to recommend several lectures by Brandon Sanderson that really helped me out.**

 **I'll also probably be revising the first few chapters (** _ **especially**_ **chap one… that's ahhhh… somethin'… at the moment)  
Chapter five, here we go.**

Slightly irritated at her abruptly leaving, I jogged back to the Pokemon Center with a bit of purpose in mind for once, make better combos. _How hard could it be?_ _**If you think something along the lines of 'what could possibly go wrong' again I**_ **will** _ **strangle you while you're sleeping and end your insufferable existence.**_

 _No need to be so 'insufferable' you know, we finally have something to_ focus _on for once._ _We can climb so high, we're neva~ gonna di-ie!_ Grinning like a bandit, I felt the grumbling voice fade deeper into the recesses, apparently done with my crap for the morning.

Seeing Nurse Joy stare at the grin I was sporting staring at a wall, I coughed and asked for some help in reviving the team, seeing as revives were a touch expensive at the moment and _we should probably get some battles in actually… maybe the beach near here?_ Mulling over where a good number of trainers would be hiding, I absentmindedly thanked her and ignored the reminder that letting them naturally rest would be better for their long-term health, that one was never proven.

Going out for a nice lunch, I walked up near the top of a hill and plopped down, pulling out food for the group and a leftover berries to hand out.

Kicking my legs and staring at the team eating, I tilted my head at each of them in turn, specifically at Skorupi's lack of any techniques at this point. Shellos could hold her own with powerful ranged attacks and mobility through Acid Armor, making techniques less of a concern.

Skorupi though… now combo moves would be perfect for a speed-blitz style…

Squeaking indignantly at my staring, the bug type demanded to know what my deal was with him as I sheepishly explained. He looked thoughtful and gave a sidelong glance at Sting's ravenous eating before nodding vigorously at the chance staring him in the face. It pained me to see Skorupi yearning to be even close to Sting's plateau with combo moves _and_ being the general best choice on the team, so I decided to make a deal with all four in front of me.

"From now on guys, we should try to be as strong as we can alright? Team Rocket isn't going to get away with whatever they want, and we _will_ grow strong enough to not need to worry about them hurting us or our friends anymore. Whaddya say guys?" A bitter smile at the memory of how _little_ we'd been able to do plagued me, but that would never happen again. Not on my watch.

Thinking on how we could get more powerful, two big things kept jumping at me from recent memory. One, obviously, was Kahili saying to keep working on techniques, but the other was that blue haired guy.

All I could remember at the guy was the odd comment from right after Viridian Forest; his offer for power was immensely tempting, but there were still two things still bothering me about it.

The first didn't say anything until I began to seriously consider it, that being Split of course, though he also wouldn't share what was so bad about it. Typical. I did have a general sense of foreboding about that guy though, no one would just give out training, in other words, _power_ for no reason.

Not even the Professor did that, new trainers had a job to fill in as much of the Pokedex as we could. _I wonder if Gary's still going to pick up the slack for me there…_

It was one reason that trainers disliked becoming 'monotype' trainers; though Masters of a certain type are a little different in that, literally, every Elite Four member had at least one 'off type' Pokemon. A dark user having a Gengar, a fighting user having a rock type and so on. Then there was Flint. But that's kinda Flint's thing since fire _is_ a bit of an overused type so, I shrugged and left it alone.

Getting up from the bench after hearing the local Nurse Joy call me over, I thanked her again and went off to train against other trainers before going against the water gym of all things. This would be a memorable gym battle if nothing else.

*******************************************

Stretching after Numel blasted another tree in the tiny forest that made up most of route 25, I checked the time and wondered where Sting and Skorupi had gone off too, ultimately brushing it off. There were no steel types around here, and there were rare in general around Kanto so they could defeat most any local opponents between the two of them.

It was two in the afternoon and Numel was still going, "All right, stop for now. We don't want you getting hurt." His grunting and continuous blasts did not inspire any confidence, and knowing that he would probably just throw an Ember at me if I kept at it, I left him to his own devices. Eventually, he'd collapse and I'd come back to recall him, just not now. He couldn't keep going for much more than the two hours he'd done so far, I was sure of it.

Silky smooth sand crunched beneath my feet as I glanced around to both ends of the beach. Finding who I was looking for, I waved her over and crouched to pet her head. "Having fun in the water?" Chirping with her cute little smile, my face softened and we splashed back and forth for a few minutes. "So, did you get any Tentacool with a pressure blast?" As she nodded and continued to play, I laughed and relaxed for a while, ready to do whatever it took to at least let Arroyo grow up with a lot of fun.

Telling Arroyo to keep having fun after enjoying a solid twenty minutes of fooling around, I walked over to where Numel had been, sure that by now practically any Pokemon would have collapsed.

Unless, of course…

"Pyralis, you really might want to _stop_ firing off attacks before you hurt yourself and get benched for a week." Hands twitching slightly at his being twice as stubborn as when I caught him, even considering the promise we made to each other as a team, I was unhappy with his training to doing more damage than good by now.

Hearing his new nickname and the harsh tone that came with it, he paused for a moment on shaking legs, and in that moment of hesitation his body collapsed and he began gasping in huge lungfuls of air.

Running my hands in small circles on either side of my head, I recalled him and set off to find the as-of-currently troubling poison specialists of the team.

Fortunately for me, they were trading blows back and forth in Agility, though Sting thankfully didn't seem to be in Onslaught at the moment. Upon closer inspection, Skorupi was using what looked like the residue from Sting's…!

I couldn't help it, a wry smile that crescendoed into belting out laughing at the simultaneous genius and futility of the idea as I walked forward.

"The effort is nice Skorupi, but I'm not sure you'll be able to rely on his poison for most battles you're in,"

Skorupi just huffed and turned away for a second.

Letting out a huff of my own, I continued, "and if you'd let me finish you'd know that instead of just taking a jab at you, I appreciate what you're doing here; I believe this might help you out in learning it." The move was plenty powerful, and I knew Skorupi would be able to pull it off quite well, but it was giving him quite a bit of trouble in actually learning to use it.

I turned to Sting with a gleam in my eye the next moment, "You know how bad the backlash of Onslaught effects you? We~ll, what if we could reduce the strain and let you stay in a boosted-up state with all the same speed? I don't see any real problems with it, so do you wanna try it?"

Sting put his claw to his face as if to stroke a beard, narrowed his eyes for a moment and nodded with a suspicious look. "Hey, hey, it's not that bad." A glare this time, "all you have to do is just stop putting effort into Harden, I'm pretty sure that your body is tough enough to pull that off now, yeah?" I finished sheepishly.

There were two very important reasons Onslaught had Harden of all moves among it's set up, one of which being harder skin + faster speed = more damage, but the _other_ reason was more for Sting's safety. The thing that held back many flying type Pokemon from simply disappearing into supersonic speeds was a little thing called _physics_ that sort of stopped most people from doing (any more so than was usual anyway) insane tricks.

And that included air resistance and more importantly: g-forces. Having more than triple the pressure on his body before any impacts would be bad enough, so he would need some time to get used to it at a bare minimum.

Assuming he could pull it off, it would be effective resistance training for both stamina and general toughness at least.

Sting was a little displeased to hear this, but we were both excited when this was possible to maintain for double the duration of Onslaught without any extra difficulties, and that it didn't take as long for recovery, only about half of what the Onslaught timing would be, meaning only about thirty seconds from when we had started using that amazing combination, and his technique had dramatically improved with the combination through repeated actions, creating true skill in Onslaught and allowing for up to a minute in it at the moment.

Turning back to Skorupi with the same ever-present gleam in my eye, I opened my mouth, snapped it shut, and shook my head. "I'm getting overly eager to do too many things at once with you guys, once you've got this one down we'll move onto more variety and techniques."

With a nagging feeling I had forgotten something seconds after turning around, stopped and mid-step and turned on my heel to see Sting hissing with laughter at how he'd returned Skorupi into his Pokeball, and how well he could pickpocket me apparently.

His _hysterical_ prank was a touch less so to Skorupi once he was released, starting up a mock battle between the two that Skorupi almost seemed to be winning, though Sting also didn't slip into anything higher than Agility, meaning that the ground type was getting circles run around him with an ever-present smirk that spoke of mischief abound.

Relaxing with the team like this, life was good.

Seeing the beach dotted with people fishing and watching a trio of kids run around playing tag, things were perfectly relaxing and it looked like a peaceful day on the outskirts of Cerulean.

"Ready for some battles guys?" Of course, that meant it was time for a change.

"Alright, who do you guys think we should ask?" Everyone loved battling, so it should be as simple as walk up and ask, right?

Turns out, quite a few people enjoyed spending their days sleeping while opportunity knocked. Huffing after being refused for the fourth time in a row, I sulked over to the last few on the whole beach, figuring that if the team was trying then it was my job to do the same.

"Uh, hey there, you two wanna have a battle or somethin'?"

Immediately the two sandy blonde haired kids glanced at each other and brightened up, eagerly nodding at me and speaking in sync, "Sounds fun! Ever heard of a double battle?"

Nodding and seeing the first kid on the right bounce on the balls of his feet as the second shook out her shoulders, their grins grew to monolithic proportions as they each pulled out a Pokeball and waited for me to lead off the battle.

Blinking in surprise at the lack of rules, I threw caution to the wind and adopted an infectious smirk of my own, throwing out two pokeballs to begin the match.

Four cries echoed onto the warm sand of the beach as Pyarlis immediately threw out an Ember, the large pillar effectively blocking the view of the opponents on who else was sent out, allowing the speedy poison expert to fall back and slink into the shadows.

A Beedrill shot out from behind the flames and honed in on the fire type who _dared_ to try and take a cheap shot before they were ready, charging in without care for whatever else was on the field.

No time to worry about what their second Pokemon was, I brought up a mental image of what Beedrill were known for and burned a precious few seconds into nothing trying to come up with a strategy. My face twisted into a grimace as Pyralis grew fed up with Beedrill constantly diving in, using Pin Missile or Poison Sting and backing without commitment, and blasted off a Lava Plume the moment the bug type went for the same strategy, the bug type simply backing off before the flames could reach him.

Not able to think of anything clever to hide my plans, I shouted behind me, "Look around for their second member while you can!" The smoke cleared abruptly as a Gust blew through the area, kicking up sand and blinding Pyralis as I could only cry out a warning while eyes alit blue with the glow of psychic power from almost twenty feet away flared as the angry camel drew near his limit.

Ready to go for broke at Pyralis going down for with gain, I let out an annoyed _tch_ and called in the backup. "Agility into Night Slash! Split those two up!" Upon Skorupi's dashing onto the scene and running at the Butterfree, scoring a clean swipe that almost knocked the frail Pokemon out in one strike. Beedrill charged into the fray and speared Skorupi through before anyone else could react, ignoring whatever a tired Numel could possibly pull off. _Those two are at each other's back no matter where the fight leads, agh, splitting up isn't working!_

"Pyralis, do it! Skorupi get out of there, quick!" Whatever the possibility of taking Numel out of the equation was, that chance was long gone once his animalistic smile burst onto his face as he began letting boiling steam escape from his back. "Flame Burst!"

The burst of fire looked to have been lobbed into the air, the bug types and everyone on the field could clearly see it's trajectory, causing the bug types to start buzzing around it and leaving it behind them. Their expressions when the small projectile _exploded_ behind them were nothing short of bliss for the pyromaniacs who stared on in glee as the hot coals and embers flew out of the blast, impacting both bugs and bringing down the injured Butterfree with no difficulty.

Pyralis could only fall onto his stomach with his legs falling out from underneath him, but it was all fine. Then Beedrill went for a last ditch effort and pulled high in the air into a dive bomb, spinning rapidly.

The kid had a joyous grin on his face as he shouted his last order of the battle, "Yeah! Let's finish 'em off with a Drill Run, Beedrill!"

Smirking at his tunnel vision and idea to go for the exhausted foe who truly was no threat by now, I gave my own last order for the match. "Knock him off course with a Pin Missile."

As the small needles coated in bug energy flew over to the bug type's last effort, the needles were ignored for the first few seconds as Drill Run's rotation blew them away, but the constant assault began to war against _The Spin_ and quickly the drill slowed as it was _brutally_ pelted with hundreds of needles one after the other, pushing the aerial bug type off course.

Just as it would have struck the ground and made at least a deep trench in the sand, it was returned into the boy's Pokeball as his face became shadowed in his sandy hair.

The boy glanced up from clipping the ball to his belt as I prepared for some telling or some action of the sor-"Thanks for the battle mister! Not many people want to battle is since we have such great teamwork, so that was a lot of fun!" He handed over a small wad of cash for the two of them with a good-natured sigh.

Staring blankly without knowing what to do, I realized I looked like an idiot that'd frozen in place and tried to fix it, "Uh, I um, thank y-welcome," ducking my head down and throwing my hood up on my sweatshirt, I muttered a last "thanks" with a wave before heading back to the city.

Battles were _stressful_.

Running back to the beach about ten minutes later, I whipped out Arroyo and Sting's pokeballs to get some work in for the two main players in this next battle.

"Alright, now Sting, I don't think anyone enjoys this but I need you to take some tank some more hits, this next him is the water gym so you almost certainly _will_ get hit and Arroyo needs practice hitting things so…" seeing a flat glare, I decided to throw him a bone this time. "Alright fine, you can dodge the attacks, _but_ you'll have to do so in Rush or not at all."

This would combine training for stamina, aim, speed _and_ working on Rush as a whole, it would be an extra boon if Arroyo could pull off that last component to turn the move from on overpowered Water Gun to the most consistent water type attack known to man.

"Whenever you two are ready."

Obviously if I was out or some other disaster happened, the team was underprepared to handle themselves. It was lucky that the Rocket grunts were weak and numerous instead of strong and few, otherwise it would have been a proverbial _slaughter_.

Didn't make watching any _easier_ , but it reminded me that this could be necessary, _life and death_ necessary, and that I _had to_ allow them to figure out tactics and probably hold a lesson on general strategy. _**Boy, the day that**_ **you** _**teach**_ **strategy** _**is the day that the world ends. You forgot that Arroyo could create to travel through. You didn't use Sting to probe for weaknesses,**_ **knowing** _**that a Geodude or Rhyhorn stood no chance against Arroyo on that field.**_ **I** _ **will reach strategy, or they will not be taught by either of us.**_

Gritting my teeth, I cringed at each point of failure within the one battle alone, losing hope realizing that for once, he was _right_. _Just don't lead them astray, or I won't forgive you._

Seeing Sting begin to slip in and out of Rush to dodge individual blasts, I began to wonder why Arroyo was giving him a reprieve between each attack. When Sting _did_ get hit and his wing was steaming for almost three seconds _after_ he'd frantically smacked away what hit, he was _much_ more careful to avoid the next blasts.

Grinning like a fool, I thought of what else Arroyo could do in this upcoming battle; there was Scald, and Acid Armor, and… uh… glancing at the Pokedex in worry, I checked over her moves again. _Water Gun, Water Pulse, ah ha! Mud Bomb! Ahh… how well_ can _she use Mud Bomb…?_ _Eh, we'll just touch up on that one before the battle._ ' _Oughta be fine._

The rest of the day gan to drag on until quickly began to drag on, though a nagging worry stayed with me the whole time, mockingly replaying itself in my head every time I went to relax Oughta be fine… What could possibly go wrong? Arroyo will be perfectly… fine… just like what would have happened if she'd hatched earlier and been caught… perfectly f- Laying under a tree trying to nap, brown orbs snapped open to accentuate the dark circles underneath and release the regrets contained within. "Goddammit why am I like this, I can't even ignore my own fucking mind and insecurities."

Staring down at a shaking hand I sighed and knocked my head against the rough bark. It hurt. The second hit was a bit softer but it… grounded me, for lack of a better term.

The throbbing headache was a welcome distraction against the whispers that were only getting louder.

Giving up the oh so _exciting_ activity of staring blankly at the ceiling for who knows how long, I glanced back to the digital clock sitting on the small desk provided to every room in the center.

3:48 wasn't exactly an _ideal_ time to get up, but it's not like there's much I could do about it; better than seemingly endless nightmares of death. Sighing at my own dramatic thoughts I and how petty I could be _literally_ living out my dream, I got ready for the day ahead before I could stew in any more thoughts or regrets. _Nothin' good down that road…_

 _ **If you're that desperate for company, you could always just ask you know.**_

 _Yes, of_ course, _why wouldn't I ask for company from my_ favorite _person in the whole_ world, _hmm?_

 _ **You could also just not be an ass to**_ **literally** _ **the one person who truly knows you, but whatever, suffering awaits if you're that eager.**_

Sitting up with crossed arms, I waiting for further commentary with a twitching eye, suddenly slumping over and relaxing my arms when none came.

"Thank _god_ coffee exists." There would be at least one comfort this morning, and I'd be damned if there wasn't anything to help me focus this early in the morning, seeing as there was no way I'd get back to sleep today.

Sighing at the thought of actually getting up and _doing_ things, I decided to get it over with, taking a quick shower and fantasizing over any food left in the kitchen for me to munch on.

Creeping downstairs to not wake up and draw the ire of others in the center, I quickly found the back room with a cupboard and rummaged around for a snack that didn't have plastic surrounding it, because there was _nothing_ louder at this ungodly hour of the morning-except dripping a spoon.

Never again.

A quiet gasp drew me out of my reminiscing from behind me, causing me to tense up and whip around like a vine to face the imposing shadow of…!

A little girl. Blinking away the memory of what once was, I paused to think about just _why_ a little girl would be awake at 4 in the morning and whispered as such.

"Okay A) I'm not a little girl so stop talking to me like one, I'm already 12 and B) _you're up too!_ Also it looks like you're stealing but I doubt that you are, since otherwise you'd have some kind of awareness and be worried that I'd found you."

Blinking at the machine-gun fire that had just erupted from her mouth, I glanced at my hands and how… yeah… that _did_ kind of look like stealing but-

"You should also stop muttering since that looks almost like you're arguing with yourself ya know?"

Grinning at a sudden thought, I drew myself up to my full (diminutive) height and quietly shouting, "Gligar!" I watched her jump and doubled over in silent laughter at her frantically glancing around for what could be happening.

She glanced over to my wide grin and cleared her fists walking over, presumably to hit me. I waved for her to calm down as I tried to do so myself and stop cut down on the hysterics.

The grin slid halfway off when _she_ grinned and grabbed a Pokeball off her belt, releasing a Drowzee and pointing at me. As things got woozy I thought I heard whispers, and it all cut off with a loud _thump_ as I fell to the floor, dizzier than a Spinda.

The girl was shooting something, and another flash of light illuminated the darkness for a moment as a blue blur dated to my side, staring down at my face with bright yellow eyes before darting away.

I heard more noises as I tried to sit up, feeling as if my head had been dunked under water for a bit too long before reality crashed into me like a _freight train_.

 _Oh SHIT I started a fight in the middle of a Pokemon Center._

"Stop! Sting, hold on, I'm fine! Guys wa-wa-wa-wait!"

The Kadabra's shoulders stiffened and the Pokemon held up its spoon defensively as the dark form of Sting suddenly stopped in between me and the Psychic type.

Immediately scooping up the heavy flying type, I looked to him and gave a small smile. "If nothing else, I know that _someone_ had my back when I make… Interesting choices. Thanks Sting." Setting him down as gently as I could(because holy _hell_ he weighed more than it looked like), I smiled apologetically towards the young girl who I'd caused all this trouble for, offering a hand and my name.

The girl simply sighed and flipped back her hair, closing her eyes and proclaiming, "It was no issue really, you simply shouldn't have played such a trick on me and none of this would have happened."

"The image you're trying to put up is sort of ruined by the puppy pajamas but yes, I do accept that this was pretty much my fault. That still doesn't answer my question of what you're doing up though, so let's like-get back to that and maybe move away from trying to wake up the whole center and or getting ourselves killed by other people's tired Pokemon?"

At her sputtering I rolled my eyes and began rummaging through the cupboards once more, not really caring what she did as long as nothing else troublesome happened. I tell could care less about her getting insulted on her persona, since 99% of the time that type of personality was completely fake, a cover-up for every little worry and insecurity that last beneath.

It takes one to know one after all.

My face brightened up as I _finally_ found a plastic covered snack bar in the back, eagerly pulling out two of them and heading to the fridge for some eggs to throw in a pan.

"Hey! You can't just-just say that and _leave_ _me_ here!"

"Sure I can. But why do you say that?"

It was all I could do not to bust out laughing at her dropped jaw and face set half in indignance, half in disbelief to the point where I almost _cried_ when Split compared her to a Magikarp flopping on the ground. _Somehow_ I kept it together outside of my mind so as to not antagonize her further but it got _tough_.

"Alright, if you're so good then let me see you battle Misty! I bet I'll do better than you ever would! I'm scheduled for tomorrow so sign up, if you're good enough anyway."

"Way ahead of you; _literally_ in this case since I'm scheduled for a battle in less than eight hours. I guess if you wanna see somethin' then it's at ten, but don't be too surprised when we wipe the floor with Misty's team and apologize that you're showing up later to _bore_ her."

Narrowed eyes on each of our faces, one angry and another lazily enjoying the interaction, until the Kadabra's eyes glowed and seemed to tell her something. Not a moment later her face paled and she frantically ran up the stairs.

I just deflated and checked over Sting, being at _any_ disadvantage before this battle would be quite a bit worse than against any other trainer so far.

Walking up to the gym was a disturbingly mundane affair, since I awkwardly felt every movement I made, constantly adjusting my stride and belt until they felt comfortable, took a step and realized that it _wasn't_ comfortable, rinse and repeat.

The building itself wasn't super fancy either, no fancy symbols or anything really, aside from a bit less rock and more… _fluid_ transitions between each of the shingles.

 _ **One of these days you're going to look back and realize that people remember your**_ **puns** _**more than they remember you or your team. Make that day today, or tomorrow, so that I can just be**_ **free** _**of this agony.**_

 _Oh quit whining you baby, this is serious. And sometimes I can't help it._ And _that one was just too easy, you know it._

 _ **Then hurry up and get in there instead of stalling.**_

 _Maybe I would if you would_ shut it _already._

Getting the impression that Split had a raised eyebrow right after I said that, without a retort, I had to make good on my word.

And avoid being late to an appointment I scheduled. That too.

The receptionist-with _pink_ hair this time-gave an empty smile. "What can I do for you today?"

Hiding the nervousness that crept up like a vine of ivy I put on the mask, "I have a battle scheduled for" A fleeting glance to the clock on the wall, "twenty minutes from now."

A coy smile prowled onto her face as she looked me up and down and stretched out her body, "I can mark that down, but isn't there anything you'd… _enjoy_ , while we wait?"

Staring blankly for just a moment, my face _erupted_ into a scarlet inferno the second the implications registered, leaving to fall onto my back and scrabble against the floor "I-uh well, you- eh… ?"

She poked her head out from above the counter with a smug smile on her face before laughing hysterically, leaving me dazed and confused as all hell.

Shakily standing up I raised a finger to question what in the everliving _shit_ just happened when she waved me off and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh lighten up kid, a smug little brat put me up to this and it sounded fun. I wasn't disappointed in her biased assessment of you, that was _hilarious_. You can go in now, Misty's just waiting since the last one got whooped in no time flat. Have fun, they're both waiting for you."

Walking through into doorway still a bit flustered, I squared my shoulders and calmed down enough to reset the mask. _Emotions don't help, they distract. Analysis, action, repetition. Analysis, action, repetition. They will_ not _get caught out like at Mt. Moon, we can win here._

Mask set, steps with purpose and eyes filled with determination led me forward, ready to face whatever challenge Misty would throw our way.

Misty was hanging off the bleachers chatting with that girl from the night before, turning to face me once she heard footsteps clacking on the tile floor. "So kid, think you're ready to face me? How many badges do you have?" She hopped down and took her position across the pool with a hand to the right resting on a collection of Pokeballs.

I held up a finger in response, face unchanging as I grabbed a ball from my own belt, plan already in place for how this would go down based on the battles I'd watched this morning.

Her lips grew thin and she threw out a ball, coalescing into the bright purple form of her signature Starmie that stood still on the one platform floating on the pool, in other words, our only salvation. "The battle will be a four on four in that case."

I tossed out Sting first, knowing that Arroyo wouldn't be able to escape the dangerous Thunderbolts that the psychic type would sit back and spam.

Carefully keeping my face from devolving into a grimace I clutched to what little surprise we could even have, "Let's start this off with a bit of an _onslaught_ , huh Sting?"

The ground type was just as focused seeing his opponent since we _both_ knew that he wasn't going to be able to beat Starmie without a stroke of something extra, _and_ Sting wouldn't be able to dodge forever.

"Fury Cutter."

"Starmie, stay back and hit it with a Pulse of Water!" The water type's gem lit up with a blue glow before quickly floating into the air and gathering the power for what looked like a rapid-fire tactic, with the long charge time and enough tiny bubbles obscuring its form.

I let a smirk slide through at the thought.

A surprised gurgle was let out by the water type as Sting landed on top of it, jumping with his boost and gliding over 'till he was above Sta-

My smirk turned horrified as the Starmie exploded and all the gathered water glowed blue, trapping Sting in a bubble as he gripped his throat and _thrashed_ like I'd never seen before, immediately recalling him as Starmie came up from the pool.

"If you recalled him, you-"

"Ah, y-yeah, I know the rules, I was just… surprised, is all." I was definitely shaken, and I knew she could tell from the sympathetic glance she shot me, but I put the thought aside and drew out the next ball, hoping that this one would turn out better and land a hit so Arroyo had a chance at being in her element.

"Poison Pin, dart around and hit it with Night Slash if you can knock it down."

Skorupi glanced back for a moment, afraid if his agitated tail was any indication. We'd have to work on that later, but I gave a twitching upturn of my lips to reassure him, which seemed to work since his tail quit trembling and he squared his legs and opened his mouth to fire the darts into the suspiciously immobile Starmie.

I warning cry left my lips too late as its eyes glowed that evil blue and threw Skorupi like a _ragdoll_ against the side of the gym in his moment of preparation while a single dart flew through the air and clattered against the wall behind far Misty, leaving the room silent as the pin dropped.

I recalled Skorupi and let this grimace free upon releasing my third Pokemon against her still untouched first. "Pyralis, I don't have a good strategy for you, do what you do best and try to overwhelm it, be careful that it can use Psychic whenever it wants and _will_ spam Water Pulse. It's up to you now." Fists clenched at the reminder of my _uselessness_ in _every_ battle we've had so far, I couldn- _No! We still have a_ chance _here, and I need to do whatever I can to help them win_.

Leaving it to Numel seemed to have been a decent choice as he made Starmie _work_ to stay away from all of his projectiles, suddenly glowing purple as Numel charged up a more powerful Flame Burst to explode and hit most of the pool Starmie kept floating above and I realized what was happening.

"Lean into the pool and throw it straight below you!" Leaving me thankful for small mercies, Numel did just that and hit the _real_ Starmie as its focus left it and the Substitute clone faded. I wanted to hit myself over the head for not thinking of it earlier, of _course_ she would take advantage of Starmie's being able to use Teleport. Even if Starmie _could_ take hits, which such a frail Pokemon certainly _couldn't_ , why not just trick people and hit them with Psychic? _Good Palkia I'm an idiot._

The Water type shook itself off and stayed under the water, more ruffled than anything else as it's gem began to glow that blue _again_. Getting tired of the game of cat and mouse with a shotgun, I decided that this would be it. "Pyralis, put it all into Ancientpower and wait. This'll make or break this gym battle."

Starmie's plan became abundantly apparent when enormous bubbles floated up with water sloshing around in them, heading right for the platform as Starmie masterminded four separate bubbles. "Pyralis, this is it. Holding all those bubbles will force it to stay still, time to smash those rocks into it. I know that you can do this, and it's right below the platform. All you've gotta do is smash them into it, you've got this. I _know_ you have the power to do this Pyralis, it's go time."

Gnawing my lip at how close this would be, I sucked in deep breaths and closed my eyes. Whatever Pyralis would do, would determine the fate of this gym battle. Arroyo wouldn't lose to any other water type Misty would bring out against a challenger with one badge, and if Starmie went down here, that was the battle.

I heard a pop, a rush of a huge amount of water pounding against the platform, and a roar that held the anger of hundreds of Mankey if not more, raw and gurgling amidst three more pops.

Opening my eyes as the last of the four waterfalls began its descent, I watched in awe as Pyralis defied all logic and stayed standing through the force of hundreds of gallons falling on him, _flooding_ his back as he just. _Kept. Going._

In the murky depths of the pool under the platform, a few other dark shapes slammed into a purple form that simply floated there, looking to be completely spent. I recalled the soaked Pyralis and hoped that he would be fine, stasis didn't kick in for a few moments after the recall. Thinking of the last time water had got into his back, when _rain_ had almost made him into a Slakoth, that worry quickly crushed my lungs and put a lump in my throat before I _crushed_ the urge to panic and moved my hand over the Pokeball of this battle's victor, now that Starmie was gone.

I looked back up to the platform and my brain shut down at the sight of that _Starmie_ , glowing with a golden light surrounding it.

I had to fight my own legs from sending me stumbling back in shock at the _terror_ that was that _thing_ that was _completely fine_! It swept up the remains of the water with a quick wave of Psychic and seemed to look into my being, asking _well? Who's next on the list?_

I gripped Arroyo's Pokeball and wound up for a _throw_ before pausing, thinking on how the other three had gone down. A suffocation tactic, a _ragdoll_ , and a near drowning. I thought on what would be next for Arroyo if I sent her out, for _shock_ after _shock_ and watching her realize that this time, the water wouldn't _save_ her. Oh no. It would be the barrel for the electric gun. I shuddered and paled before coughing and forcing out the next words that came to mind, "I forfeit the match, have a nice day." Before ducking my head down and rushing out of the room like the Giratina himself was on my heels.

Battles, it turned out, were _damn_ stressful. But this time I realized it _wasn't_ just for the Trainer.

 **A/N**

 **So yeah… this chapter is when things start getting real for Testa.**

 **And hopefully for my writing, after dozens of videos of college lectures…**

 **And realizing that I gave like 6 infodumps…**

 **And getting** _ **Worldbuilders disease**_ **so that I couldn't write while it all swirled around up in the gnoggin…**

 _ **And taking forever to update**_ …

 **(-_-;,) that's just kinda mb tbh…**

 **Whelp, when I start my first year of college coming up it ah… this story might either be updated a bit less due to HW and playing Rivals of Aether to relax…**

 **Or maybe I'll use this to relieve a bit of stress.**

 **\\(-_-)/ idk anymore.**

 **Review and tell me what'cha think or for suggestions, later.**

 **a~lso, whenever you guys kept seeing a random "** * 3*" **that was me trying to make a joke with a Sans laugh sound file. So yeah, just keep that in mind I suppose.**

 **tHat'N'Clogs**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

 **Hey look! The longest fight scene so far, maybe this time I'll add some** _ **fun**_ **to this one. *cough* suicide TW so ah… careful for the first scene, just go to the '***********' if you wanna skip it.**

 **If you couldn't tell (somehow) Ernest Hemingway quotes are a bit** _ **too**_ **effective sometimes. It's not a typewriter so I** _ **guess**_ **if you want to play that way it doesn't really count.**

He'd failed. Plain and simple, that was a failure. There-Under almost no circumstances would that battle have worked out. There was a grand total of _one_ team member who could fight well in or under water, and he hadn't even remembered that it could use Substitute _or_ Recover. _Why am I so… useless?_

A giddy chuckle quickly rose up in answer, _**You kno~w, if you'd let**_ **me** _**fight, then it would have been a victory you know? Of**_ **course** _**there was a reason the gem glowed in the first few seconds of the battle. Giving me control would be**_ **so e~asy,** _**don't you think? There would be no more doubts, no more worries, you've been in my position, there's nothing wrong with taking a little break, no? It's good for you, I've heard.**_

I felt a frown at the lack of response. I ignored it, still staring at the ceiling lifelessly. _Why should I give you anything?_ _Why not just, give up entirely?_

We both went still at the swirling tempest within this mind, the one we had to share, the one we'd each been stuck with.

I let my vision blur and lose focus, the action being too much effort. The eyes only blinked autonomously, just enough to keep them from drying out. _Why should the team have to deal with us, be bound to what we do and where we take them? I'm a bad trainer, I've left them hurt in the arms of another since I can't even heal them when they do get hurt, I'm nothing without them, so why? Why…_

For once, Split seemed to sigh and speak softly, _**There's an old saying, get knocked down seven times, get up eight.**_ _**Do you know why this phrase is important?**_ _**It means that failure is something everyone can tell you about. Everybody fails, but getting back up is what matters. Getting back up and using it to be better next time. Don't ignore your regrets, don't push them away or forget about them.**_ **Use** _**them, and remember what you can do better. Let those mistakes build up, and don't let them control you, let them**_ **fuel** _**you.**_

I grunted and rolled over, ready to nap away this flood of helplessness that had me drowning.

It was a long time staring at the wall.

Bright colors grabbing my attention, I threw a glance at it to see if there was anything special on one of these. Sighing at the lack of a point, I trekked on.

I leaned back and cracked my spine again, not caring if I took up the aisle for a moment. Not like many people were here anyway. I didn't even know why I was here, but hey, gotta keep the team's food going at least. Might wanna grab some protein bars too. Maybe the cheap ones would distract him from his thoughts with that _taste_. Eugh. _Why not_.

Another bright flash caught my eye, leaving me to find out what it was to sate my curiosity. I sighed and let my head hang to the side before I saw the label stuck to the glass case. I blinked at the sight and checked how much money I had left, debating on how much was necessary to keep on hand in case anything went wrong.

 _ **You could just get up to four of the single-use ones, they're on sale. Just keep in mind who can learn what, ask me if you need.**_

Humming at the thought, I turned away for the moment. _I'd rather save up for a wider selection, maybe in a larger city with more variety._

I held the four of them in my hands, slumping against the tree.

I closed my eyes and let all four of them out, ready to face the anger, the disappointment, the- Cheerful chirp? _Arroyo wasn't in the battle, she probably still doesn't know what happened…_ A light weight pressed itself into my leg.

"Go ahead, do it. Do something, run away if you want. I'm not good enough, I get it. You can do what you want now." I curled up into my hoodie and zipped it around me like a blanket, uncaring that it would stretch the material. I got agitated when nothing happened, not even a rustle of grass or _whoosh_ of fire. "Do _something_. _Say_ Something. _LEAVE ALREADY!_ " I blinked back any hint of whatever stupid dew had fallen from the tree, I'd already hardened my heart to this. They could leave now, why weren't they _doing_ anything?

"Oh you want someone to say something to you? Well maybe you should have _won the battle_ , hmm, Testa?" Oh right, her again. I guess this was just karma for losing and getting the tea- Numel, Shellos, Skorupi and S-Gligar hurt.

"Haaaah? Are you _crying?_ Wow, I didn't know that you were weak in both Pokemon _and_ mind, hmph. Maybe you should just give up now if that's what you do after one little loss, especially on only your second badge. Like _this_ shiny little prize I got. Pff, at this point y-" Whatever else she was about to say was cut off when the whole team finished turning around and stared at her, some way of laying claim that _hey, this is OUR thing to make fun of, back off._ She just laughed and pulled out her own Pokeballs, five of them.

"Your team isn't good enough to even beat Misty, how could you beat me? Bring it on _you fools_."

I watched listlessly as she let out a collection of Pokemon, the Kadabra, an Exeggcute, the Drowzee, a Slowpoke and a Jynx. "I got this Jynx from my family, it's of the highest quality and won't be beaten by some ragtag group of idiotic Pokemon. Time to make some money here."

A flame flickered, dim but lit once more, and despite being a shadow of its former self I knew I owed it to the t- _them_ , I owed it to these four to let them be strong in this moment, I deep frown filling my face with the first true expression in almost a day.

"I might be an idiot, I might be the worst trainer around and _I_ might not deserve to be here, but you've crossed the line, bitch." The flame had plenty of heat from her comments, a bit of air from the action my body was reacting to, now all it needed was one last piece. A hungry grin flitted onto my face as I laughed hysterically, through with moping around and being more useless than usual.

 _All that's left, huh?_

"All that's left… is to beat any expectations and _crush them into the ground,_ y'know?"

The Kadabra's eyes glowed a sudden blue as Sting was surrounded in the _accursed light for the LAST TIME._

My head hung limp for the briefest of moments as a deep humming began in my throat and my arms stretched and my back arched, sighing in contentment as the humming cut out. "It's real good to be BACK, you know girlie? I'll thank you for this real quick, now let's get this show on the road." The eyes snuffed out their mirthful light and the expression went from "Sting, use Bite to nullify the Confusion and Onslaught/Fury Cutter this pathetic spectacle. Skorupi, I know that you can cause some havoc with that speed, let's play hit and run for now with Night Slash. Pyralis, you do you. Arroyo, Scald their asses to cover Sting."

Grinning up with heterochromia on full display, Split made his own move with a gleeful smile that wreaked _havoc_ on the girl's composure. I _almost_ felt bad for her, though the misstep in flinching cost her dearly.

Sting and Skorupi kept coming from opposite sides to harass, and as her focus turned away from directing her team, Kadabra was jumped by _both_ shrouded in dark energy.

The poor psi Pokemon didn't stand a chance.

Laying on the ground in front of its comrades, _taunting_ them with the knowledge that they hadn't even been able to _turn around_ before he was finished, it shook them. The Exeggcute was even easier for Pyralis to blow up as Sting and Skorupi picked off Drowzee, and when only Jynx and Slowpoke were left standing the whole team surrounded the trio of trainer and Pokemon shaking in their boots.

Split just sighed and called them all back to his side, done with the game of ' _anything you can do I can do better'_ that tended to continue until something like this happened.

 _Thanks, I would've-just, thanks._

 _ **You've done decently training most of them, but we'll talk later on what you need to do better. That'll probably last a whole day, and**_ **then** _ **I'll have to keep reminding you. Maybe**_ **one day** _**you'll be great… I can only hope.**_ A sly grin flashed through my mind as I felt the mirth flowing out of his tone, leaving my head hung low and shaking with joyful laughter tearing its way out of my mouth.

Cutting down on the chuckling, I gave a last sickly sweet smile towards whatever-her-name-was and waved amicably, leaving her arms shaking with clenched fists and Jynx's gaze darting between the two of us worriedly.

Another laugh threatened to bubble over, but I let it go as I stretched my back and imitated Split's deeper, gravely voice (with little success), "Well thanks girlie, my eyes are even back to normal thanks to you y'know what 'm sayin'? There could be so much more _fun_ times if you let us keep your team or something. It _is_ always nice to have a good punching bag that even _moves_ to improve aim eh?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, a flame of her own lit in them. Whether it would consume her or not, the damage was done. This girl was through messing around from now on. "Don't think you've _escaped_ me, that was unnatural and we both know it. That wasn't _you_ that was… creepy, _evil_! I'll deal with you later, heretic!"

I sighed in contentment and turned back to the team with a wince, knowing that I might still be in deep shit for screwing up against Misty. "Hey guys, I-'m sorry for doin' that at the gym," I mumbled as my shoulders drooped, "I-I get that I screwed up, and I should have thought more about it and avoided putting you guys through that b- please, I-" I fully deflated and sat on the ground, not even brave enough to lift my gaze from my feet to their faces. "I don't have any right to ask this, but if I could, I want forgiveness and a _chance_ to make you guys unstoppable. If I have _any_ say in it, this won't happen again."

As I carefully looked up when nothing happened, the four looked deep in discussion with each other, expressions hidden as they put their faces right next to one another, gravelly grunts from Pyralis, odd chirps from Arroyo, and sudden outrage from Sting as Skorupi backed out of the circle as the fire and water types went silent, constant chittering a back and forth between the poison users.

Finally, Sting pulled back from his kneeling and drew himself up, stamping his foot and pointing in front of him. When Skorupi hissed and lowered himself with claws clacking, Sting shot towards him in a fit, curiously not slipping into any techniques. I made to move forward when Pyralis swiveled his head and gave a _look_ that I knew meant _don't interfere_. When I took a step forward anyway, and _Arroyo_ gave me _the same look_ , I shrank back and watched as Sting tried to circle around the bug type and avoid the claws and tail that kept snapping at him.

Neither slipped into _anything_ , which meant that Sting was far slower and less maneuverable at the moment, and though both had their strengths poison _definitely_ wasn't one of Skorupi's.

 _ **They're fighting over whether or not he should stay on the team, on even ground. Everyone realizes that you show favoritism, even Kahili after knowing you for about a day, and yet you didn't realize. Not only that, but, you show favoritism in different ways, you favor Sting and make him unstoppable by most standards at your level, and you baby Arroyo and don't let her grow. Skorupi is… displeased with this, obviously, but you**_ **need** _**to learn to use his speed effectively. It is his**_ **one** _**asset at the moment, and having him teach all he knows to Sting without doing the reverse was**_ **idiotic.** _**Now go fix your mistake once Sting pulls this off, got it?**_

I looked down in shame, looking over how many mistakes I'd made I reminded myself of that phrase, deciding to get up again.

Another day in Cerulean would be nice, and letting the rest of the team catch up with Sting would be a _damn good idea_ , but with news of Surge giving out tickets to catch the S.S. Anne's first voyage in two weeks, getting over there sounded even better.

Not like having ground types would be an immediate win, but it would _definitely_ be a boon.

And if my suspicions were right… _**Cross that bridge when you get there. Now**_ **focus** _**on strategies before you lose the last of your team's tenuous trust.**_

 _Bite, Agility, Cross Poison, Night Slash, Bug Bite… eugh… I see where that hostility's from now… Do you think…?_

 _ **No, that would not be a good idea. You need to**_ **lower** _ **tensions, don't do that.**_

Sighing at the little bits of _everything_ that were coming together, I worked backward and forwards through what each member really needed, sorted out what their specialties were, and what potential combinations there were.

 _ **You want to**_ **what?** _**A-no! He is not some video game character that'll-**_ _I'm not saying that, but the core strategy is a good idea,_ especially _if he can get a ranged attack that doesn't leave him open, poison the opponent, and harass them._

 _ **Don't run crying to me when this comes back to bite you.**_

 _Don't whine and moan when I get to tell you I told you so._

 _ **At least check what the poor bug**_ **has** _**before you act like it'll work into his strategy.**_

 _Yeah yeah mom._

Rummaging around in the pack for a few minutes to find the Pokedex, I looked into one of its lesser known features, checking over what each of the team had. It was nothing ultra rare, but it could very easily be worked in all the same.

A soft sigh escaped as I looked around the sky. Life would go on whether or not we won a battle, and that was no reason to give up.

It was the reason to get stronger.

"No point in just thinking on it, let's get some training in guys."

Though the routes were miniscule on any given map, the Kanto region was no tiny place. It took a few days to get through the routes, stopping to rest in Saffron, getting some training in as I trekked alongside Pyralis.

It was dusk when we arrived in Vermillion, Pyralis shuffling uncomfortably with the salty air but bearing it for the moment since it was still warm this time of year. A muggy, wet, _gross_ sort of warm, but as the sun went down it made sitting outside to stargaze better.

"You think you'd wanna stargaze once it gets darker?"

Pyralis just turned his neck to look at me, head tilted with tight lips.

 _Worth a shot._

Heading over to, oh _wow,_ another Pokemon Center, I rolled my eyes at dealing with another Nurse Joy, they were the fakest people around and nobody said _anything_ about it, it was _infuriating_.

Rubbing my face up and down to clear my frustrations, I stretched and sighed before anything else. "You wanna stay out here and screw around or just get into the room for now?" The ground type looked over to the grass and gave the _same damn look_ -

I _wanted_ to bang my head against a wall, but I settled for rubbing my temples before something went really wrong here. "More walking or in the ball?" Numel thankfully just reached up and tapped the ball with his nose as I kept trying to calm down.

I stripped off my sweatshirt and threw it over my shoulder before heading in and dealing with getting a room key, senses dead to anything that didn't involve collapsing on the bed and sleeping for a solid seven hours.

Of course, seven hours was a mighty task to request of my _wonderful_ brain, no matter how badly I was _still exhausted_ it just. _Kept_. GOING.

Oh _joy_. _What could be better._ _ **Be careful what you wish for.**_

I went over to the coffee machine and ignored the clock for the moment, knowing full well I'd just get angrier seeing how little I actually did sleep.

Sting was still sleeping upside down, Skorupi was twitching and stirring but not awake, Arroyo was just lazing around in her tank, oblivious to any noise as she slept and Pyralis was snoozing near the bed.

I let go of my anger and just basked in the knowledge that they'd chose to stay with me. _**For the most part**_. _Shut up I'm actually enjoying this._

Sipping the coffee, I realized that I needed to eat before my stomach decided to mutiny.

 _Congrats now we both lose._ _ **Squarely on you, not my problem.**_ _Should've thought that through before bugging me. Now I'm paying you back threefold. Still wanna pull this? You s~ure? I don't think you are._ _ **Could you**_ **be** _**any pettier?**_ _Do you really want to know the answer? That was rhetorical, because now you get to know. The hard way. Isn't this fun? I should do this more often if this is all it takes to drive you insane._ _ **This is a two-way street, at the bare minimum don't do this to anyone else you see, brat.**_ _Yeah yeah mom, I'll be-_ "Testa?"

I paused in walking down to the first floor as my head snapped to the left and I pointedly ignored the _crack_ that echoed from that very action. _**Your neck is-**_ _Shut up_ I hissed through clenched teeth, angry that Split would bug me when one of the few people that knew me on sight would be here.

"Y-yeah, it's me, who's there?"

"Look right."

"Gary! You _are_ here! Why are you awake?"

The Oak just laughed and shook his head, "Do me a favor and reverse those questions."

"That's not the same thing! I have issues and you usually aren't up by now! Ah, what, what time _is_ it right now anyway?"

"Five. I've taken to getting up early to poke fun at Ashy boy when I can, but _you!_ When did you make it out? We waited three days for you!"

My face burned at the thought of making a scene, harshly whispering back to Gary, "Keep it down, I made it out is all that matters, and I beat Brock right after too. Are Ash and Leaf here with you? How are you guys doing?"

He fiddled with his mug for a moment, one that smelled of far too much cream, as usual. "Ashy and I've both got our badges and those tickets Surge was handing out, but Leaf is… she hasn't got much in the way of a team yet so she's been having trouble."

I cocked my head to the side, taking the chance to catch up like a lifeline, "What _do_ your teams look like now anyway?"

His irritatingly smug smirk flashed onto his face, hefting up his arm and making a flexing motion as if he were some great lord. "Well now, wouldn't you like to see, eh Testa? I bet that a battle would be a fine way to find out, all we need is how many your poor team has. Only four? A shame, I've caught more than a dozen by now."

My eyes lit up at his oh so _easy_ opening, "So you mean to say that this will be quantity versus quality? Oh my Gary, we might just see who has the 'poor team' in a bit."

Gary eagerly opened his mouth to begin one of our verbal spars, leaving me concerned when he suddenly faltered and sunk into his chair, "Maybe you can help out Leaf," he began sourly, obviously not liking the idea of asking _me_ to help her. "Just don't try to pull any shenanigans alright? I'll probably go out to train on my own for a bit, so just get her out of her funk got it?"

I was _this_ close to gloating until I saw him looking down and put myself in his shoes, feeling like crap once I ran it through my head. "Hmm, I think we should battle this morning just so I can get a feel for what you three might need, I'll be learning off what you guys are doing as well so it's fair."

Gary looked back up and gave a wry smile tinged with bitterness as I got up and beckoned him outside. "Do me a favor Testa, never-" I patted my sweatshirt pockets and cursed when I didn't find anything. "Shit I'll be right back all my Pokemon are upstairs, lemme ask 'em first,"

I rushed back up to see Sting wide awake, Skorupi pacing and Pyralis lazily staring ahead in a daze, with Arroyo still sleeping like a rock of course.

I closed the door lightly shaking and couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice, "Hey, Sting guess who I found!"

The bat Pokemon tilted his head, wide-eyed at my jittering form and just mimed a sigh. The poison user side-eyeing Skorupi as the bug just stared bewildered and Pyralis, well, he just snorted and closed his eyes.

"We've got a battle if you want it, one that might be even tougher than Misty if he plays it right, but he's a trainer who's even more arrogant than that psychic girl we fought a bit ago." The fire type snapped his eyes open, obviously interested but unwilling to get up.

"There's a water type that can't fly and this fight's on flat ground." When he narrowed his eyes I just smirked back. He nodded resolutely, standing up to stretch. _Odd…_

I tossed the stray thought aside for the moment. There was a show to put on.

"You ready?"

"Remind me, who has Surge's badge already?"

Right, time to up the ante. "Whaddaya say we, spice things up a bit hmm? Assuming the teams agree, we could resolve the reason for this old rivalry right now if you want."

Gary _flinched_ , "N-nah man, why would we do that on such a lackluster stage? No rush of the crowd, not even a single witness. Either of us could just dispute the results, meaning there'd be no meaning to it at all."

I snorted and stuck my hands in the fluffy pockets of the sweatshirt, drawing out a Pokeball and tapping my foot to some unknown rhythm. _**Sounds jazzy from in here.**_ _Are you gonna help or just sit back there this time, or?_ _ **Just going to enjoy the show.**_

Refocusing my attention just as Gary began to snap out of it and lazily toss his own Pokeball into the air I followed suit, leaving the battle of water types to begin.

"Wartortle, start us off with a Bite, don't let the thing get away!"

"Scald as it approaches."

The more nimble Wartortle was _startlingly_ fast for being a bulkier Pokemon, but I just smiled. Arroyo had hit faster.

Wartortle was able to dodge most of the blasts of steaming water, understandable considering that delay that still existed, but when Arroyo finally did score a hit- Wartortle was able to turn around and use his shell to shield himself. He lost a bit of momentum but was _still_ able to pull off a skip to turn himself around, nearly upon Arroyo this time.

A manic smile appeared on my face as Gary had forgotten the one little _detail_ that made her a _monster_ against opponents who had to get a physical hit in for whatever reason. "Acid Armor."

Wartortle's eyes widened as Arroyo literally melted away in front of his eyes, traveling through the water splashed over the whole of the field from Scald.

Not that he could see where Arroyo _was_ , the water was still steaming too much for that.

"And how does this make you _feel_ , hmm Gary?"

He just gave his own smile, one that promised retribution. "Did you know that Celadon's TM department is _quite_ expansive?"

I cocked an eyebrow at his statement and wondered what he could mean before paling faster than the beams that shot out of Wartortle's mouth. "Arroyo, get out of there _ASAP!_ Scald to stop it from going any further!" The second Arroyo popped out of the water to stop the Ice Beam, I realized what Gary was really going for and hoped that Arroyo had tired her opponent enough to pull this off.

The streams battled against each other in a flurry of spray and a pale blue, Arroyo's stream inching farther and _farther_ ahead, but this was no victory. I bowed my head as Arroyo's strength began to fade, Wartortle shaking but not faltering as the flow of the beams reversed, pressuring Arroyo to make one last push before being forced to stop and gasp for air. _**Don't you dare.**_ I stayed my hand from recalling Arroyo moments before the icy wave would crash into her, only able to look on as she cried out and was frozen on the spot.

I sighed and thanked Arroyo before double checking that the stasis button was pressed in, relaxing and seeing what state Gary's starter was in.

 _Time to get this show on the road_. Filling the cracks in the mask that didn't fool Gary wouldn't help, so the cracked mask left me in a lopsided grin with _far_ too much tooth to be comforting. "Let's show 'em whatcha got, hmm Pyralis?" A giggle slipped out as the mask completely fell to the wayside, revealing the _rush_ battling gave me as Pyralis sized up his _juicy_ little opponent, or what was left of him.

The fire type gave a sour look and finished off Wartortle with a quick Earth Power, pawing the ground in anticipation of a _real_ opponent. He grunted as a large bird appeared before us, steam beginning to erupt from the hump in his back.

"Let's show this guy who's boss Pidgeotto!"

Neither fire type nor trainer made any move to stop the flying type from diving surrounded in white, completely unworried about any move it could use. All the little birdie could do was fan the flames after all.

I made sure to tap into a smooth voice just to get into his head and really _bug_ Gary, "I do believe it is time to give this bird a shower, shall we Pyralis?"

"I think it's time for a _Meteor Shower_."

Pyralis just smirked and stiffened up his body as the bird arrived, letting out a small Lava Plume to activate Corona and pull up flaming pillars, defending him for the moment he needed to fire up a large Ancientpower propelled by flames.

Propelled up _and_ down.

The Ancientpower began to break into several, then dozens, and finally _hundreds_ of little chunks of shrapnel, all still shrouded in flames and hurtling down faster than the blood in Gary's face.

I smiled innocently at the Oak, _daring_ him to say something as the smile crept into 'disturbing' territory.

"Whaddya think? Good enough to beat out flying types exploiting ground type tendencies?"

The brunette just recalled his Pidgeotto and sighed, "Your Numel didn't get off scot-free either you know." Pyralis _was_ obviously tired, but with such a combination I should _hope_ that he was tired. It clicked somewhere in the back of my mind that I was creating small, cutesy little _monsters_ with these combinations. I shrugged it off and snarked back that _everything_ was a monster, it was all about how you used it. Or if you were clinically insane, that would make a difference. _Especially if I could hide it from everyone else._ _ **Stop contemplating sociopathic tendencies and**_ **focus** _**boy!**_

 _Yeah_ yeah, _it's going fine._

"Let's bring a bit of _spice_ to this battle, eh Michelin?"

My eyes widened as a slightly-too-thin little ball of cute appeared, staring at Gary with its tongue held out and a loving expression on its face. He smiled and patted its head for a moment, laughing at the antics and murmuring a few words to the ground type.

 _What's his game?_

I could only narrow my eyes and run through what the Donphan line was known for, hoping that it didn't already know Earthquake somehow.

"Rollout! Watch out for any Earth Powers!"

I clicked my teeth and glanced at Pyralis, still panting from earlier. "Alright, time to cut it off, use Magnitude!"

The earth beneath our feet shook _violently_ as Pyralis poured most of his energy into the move, bouncing the perky Phanpy around the cratered ground and forcing it to approach from the one path left open, from above.

"Pyralis, Lava Plume!"

The pair of ground types were engulfed in a blaze large enough to encapsulate the whole field, scorching the ground in front of me and leaving both Pokemon unconscious in the crater.

I chuckled and recalled Pyralis, eager to see what was next from both parties. I winked and giggled with a laugh to remind Gary how _fun_ it was to beat his team as we each released the next combatant.

Skorupi materialized moments before the Growlithe across from him and gave me a flat look, leaving me to shrug. "You know the drill Skorupi, I'm leaving this one to you."

I was twitching with anticipation and irritation seeing Skorupi play the fight _completely_ different that I would have done, I still needed to work on that it seemed. Darting in and out of the fight with Agility, finally able to use Poison Jab and cripple the opponent, he played keep away with the Growlithe before it too slipped into a speed technique, leaving them as indistinguishable blurs upon the field.

Growlithe, well, _growled_ as he slowed to a stop, slumped over and panting as his whole body was tinged a deep purple.

And that was that.

I had calmed down during the last bout, focusing on _not_ going deeper into a lust for battle, but simply tried to return to being, me. _**Us, jackass.**_ _I'm not even gonna_ ask _what the hell you and I are anymore._

"I'm sorry Baxter, you did good, thanks." Gary gave a wry smile and threw up his hands, "I guess you have some substance behind the boasts after all, but you might not be so lucky to get another water type against that Shellos of yours next time."

"By the same token they might not be able to force Arroyo out of the puddle either though, and we're workin' on it."

He smirked and I grinned, content that we'd shown what we had.

"Now about those suggestions you mentioned…"

"You're a crazy bastard, you know that man?"

"Thank you, I'm oh so utterly _moved_ by your appreciation. What would I _ever_ do without such praise, ah the sun shines-"

Groaning pointedly, he stuck out a finger and jabbed me in the side to get me to cut it out. "Alright, alright, thanks man, just quit the wax'n on."

"You know you love dealing with it, it's so _fun_." Seeing him squirm at the voice I snickered and thought on what he'd said about Leaf. _Gotta get_ something _going, it can't be unsolvable._ _**And if the only solution is time?**_ I stayed silent, irritated but without a retort.

"But you really think Michelin'll be able to do that just by using two moves?"

"Unquestionably, I was going to get a Donphan myself, the only real downside is that they're a common foe in Johto, so if a someone from Johto or better yet anyone who's even _visited_ Johto for an extended period of time comes to Indigo then it's kinda game over. They're usually one trick ponies, but your 'trick' can be the equivalent of riding a unicycle while juggling 4 Cyndaquil."

" _Please_ stop saying your comparisons out loud, they hurt to listen to."

"Oh shut it, I remember one time when you argued with Ash in the middle of class and-"

Gary shoved me off the couch, hissing with a face redder than a Charmeleon's-" _We don't speak of that time you smartass!"_

My eyes twinkled at the antics that continued back and forth for who knows how long, teasing and cracking jokes, just catching up in general was a breath of fresh air after the last gym.

"Woah! Testa? When did you get here man? How've you been? We were _worried,_ man, where'd you _go_ why didn't you _call_ wh-"

I hopped up from the table red-faced as _everybody_ who had woken up by now was _staring_ as Ash shouted from the _stairs WHY_ -"Shhhhh! At least come talk instead of _shouting_ Ash why would you-"

"'Cause we _care_ , now gimme some stories! What've you been _doing_ this whole time?" I tuned Ash out for a moment as I dragged a hand down my face, the loveable idiot he could be, Ash was still a good person. "Did you ever solve that rivalry of who would get to date Leaf with Gary or is that still a thing, is it still causing tension between you two, or what?" _**You**_ **just** _**said he's a good person, don't try to off him now.**_ _You're right, too many witnesses._ Giving in and just slamming my head into the table after dragging Ash over, I gestured to the raven-haired boy and made Gary deal with him for a few minutes.

"I'll admit, Ashy boy here makes a good point." _What_? He _agreed_ with Ash on something? "What _have_ you been up to this whole time anyway?"

I frowned and considered waiting for Leaf and dealing with all of this at once. "Okay, I'll tell you guys, gimme a minute to run through everything before I tell, got it? Now scram for a sec, go grab some grub, Ash." I pivoted from smile to grave frown like a light as I turned to Gary, staring him right in the eyes. "Are we playin' doc here, or just playin' stupid?"

Gary's own face hardened with a clenched jaw in response, "You have some crap bottled up that you _can't_ deal with on your own, we've seen what happens. Let it out and nothing will come of it, your problem won't get worse again."

"Nothing from _you_ maybe, what are you gonna tell Leaf? I don't wa-I-eurgh! You _know_ how much strain this puts on people when I have to tell and they have to listen, and all the reactions to my screwed up head! I don't want to _run through_ all my failures again."

"Oh for, quit being such a drama queen! You didn't almost die or something, so you'll be _fine_."

I got quiet and looked away, not wanting to get into a shouting match over what qualified as 'almost' dying.

" _Testa_." He hissed, staring with eyes blazing, " _tell me,_ that you _didn't_ almost die. _Tell_. _Me_."

"Define 'almost.'"

" _You know what it means damn it_ now answer the question."

"And this is why I don't wanna talk about it."

"Testa, whether you realize it or not, _dying is a big deal!_ Get it through your thick skull! We _care_ that you're still here, we _want you to be alive_ you dumb wisecracking dense-!"

I returned to a calm whisper as I stared Gary down, not putting up with this any longer. "And how will you stop me?"

Gary stopped in his rant, frozen mid-sentence as he narrowed his eyes and made a sour face. "Don't run away from this, you _need_ this, _I said get back here you dense-_ " Tuning out any _background noise_ , I walked out and threw my hood on, beginning to run as hard as I could the second I was out of the building.

My legs were burning, I had to fall back to jogging along just to avoid passing out and _jesus fuck my LUNGS_. Split was silent with any comments, and I didn't look the gift horse in the mouth.

I did collapse though, that was bad, I needed to be better at running.

Dragging myself over to a tree I sat up, gulping as much air as I could. _**You shouldn't be so quick to-**_ _Shut. Up. Before I 'end your miserable existence,' you noisy bastard._

I felt an eye roll and relaxed from how wound up I had gotten, obviously I needed to run more if I was gonna escape this one. Practically _feeling_ Split throw up his hands in surrender, I giggled and laughed hysterically at the irony of the situation. _I'm pissing off my own personal demon and making_ him _give up,_ "Hyehahahahaha! This is _great_ , don'tcha know Split? _I'm driving myself insane, what could be_ better? HMM?!" I clutched my sides and curled up in a ball, shaking like a leaf.

I hissed angrily at my own powerlessness plaguing me at every _turn_ by now. " _There's no escape from myself._ " Angry at self-pity, angry at Gary for butting in, angry at myself for not just _doing better_ , for letting the team down _twice_ before even getting a second badge. I shivered at how cold the trees suddenly seemed, unable to tell which way was back to the Pokemon Center. Eyes darting around, I curled into a tighter ball and looked behind the tree, half expecting to see something larger than an Ursaring when I turned around. Something _creepily_ wet and slimy drew itself along the left side of my face as I froze like an _idiot_ and let the Lick finish.

 _Fuck_! The Gastly cackled and stared with its tongue to the side as if sizing up a meal as it moved to envelop my head in gas. Which, honestly, was I that good of a meal in the first place? _**At least have some decency to make an interesting idea for your last thought, ah hell. Why do I even try? Go enjoy death then.**_

"Yūrei! Use Psybeam! You're not getting away this… time… _Testa?!_ " If I was frozen by the presence of a Gastly, hearing that voice _now_ of all times turned me into a _glacier_.

"Still keeping up with your shows I hope?"

"Testa stop dying and _breathing in Gastly_ then we'll talk _what are you doing_."

 _Y'know maybe I should have acted a bit less casual there, eh?_ _ **I swear to Arceus if you try to involve me in this again I will make your life a living**_ **hell** _**for the rest of your days and disrupt every possible chain of thought you could ever have.**_ _**Leave, me,**_ **OUT.** I blinked at the vehemence Split showed, was I really _that_ bad around her? Shit.

The ghosts fired attacks back and forth but I didn't pay attention to such a minor detail at the moment, no way. _Should I-no that would be dumb. Mayb-how did that one even_ get here? _What in the… no! Focus! Uhhh… if I say that, and she says something about her shows… or if she mentions battling Surge, uh huh… oh, I_ could _say that, but then I look like I've been thinking it over too much, just gotta play it cool, gotta play things-_ I was jolted out of my thoughts as a red light flashed in front of my eyes, signaling the capture of that Gastly.

I waited until she'd picked up the Pokeball and waved casually, standing up from the tree as my lungs _screeched_ at me and I fell. _Kill me._ _ **I'd be happy to, when and where?**_

"Ooh, you okay man? I could help you get up if you need," She ( _ **said**_ ) sympathetically, walking nearer if the soft crunch of grass meant anything.

"Oh, ah, this? Haha, aww, it's nothing, just me being clumsy. I'll go ahead and just-" _JESUS FUCK WHY My lungs were on_ fire _and_ why _what could cause_ \- it was all I could do not to cry out, only choking and flopping back down.

Leaf just sighed and plopped down on the grass next to me, probably rubbing her forehead with two fingers like she usually does when we did anything stupid and- "Breathing in a _Gastly_ and trying to get up right after is usually a _bad_ idea. Now let me _help_ before you somehow get yourself killed by _another_ wild Pokemon. What are we gonna do with you, Testa? Sometimes…"

I tensed up and managed to flip myself over from facedown to lying on my back at the reminder that _oh shit_ I pissed everybody off, "Wait! I-I don't wanna go back right now, most wild Pokemon aren't active at all during the morning hours, I should be fine right here."

A flat look later, Leaf was staring back with a grin that promised _bad news_ for the future. "And how, exactly, are you going to stop me from dragging you back?"

I gave a fearful smile with a hopeful tone, "Being too heavy? Too loud for you to deal with?" Her grin only grew as her head tilted, obviously saying _why would I do that?_

"Maybe if I promise to stay here, in this spot until I go back?" Not feeling disapproval or a sadistic doom impending any further, I hesitantly continued on, "Not like I can move around real easily, but if anything happens I can let the team out to help me,"

Leaf gave a sour face for a few moments and brightened up as she settled into her spot, making herself more comfortable apparently, but- _oh no wait don't say it-_ "Only if you tell me what you've been up to while we wait." She gave a self-satisfied smile and I just wondered how the situation had gone from frying pan to fire in the blink of an eye.

I tried _desperately_ to think my way out of this one but, there wasn't any plausible method that didn't involve having Sting slip into Onslaught and painfully drag me away, which would be bad for more than just aches and pains.

"So, y'know how I was stuck in Viridian Forest? Well, after we split up from each other I actually went and caught a Skorupi as it ambushed Sting, which, as you can imagine against an _Immunity Gligar_ , didn't go so well for the little guy. We ran into some Spinarak and Sting took on two at once with no trouble and then there was an, _incident_ with Skorupi and getting food stuck on his tail," I began to spin a tale of intrigue and discovering combinations that would be most effective for Sting, including everything except Split and why I'd run out here in the first place.

Leaf was an encouraging audience member, paying rapt attention and letting out Link to cuddle as Mt. Moon approached with a dark tone. She laughed and snickered conspiratorially at the psychic girl, gasped at Mt. Moon's revelations, had a few _oooh's_ and _aaah's_ , and was kind enough to just listen until the end of the story.

"Woah… alright, I'll admit, _that_ sounded pretty cool overall. Now that we've gotten you some good emotions brought up, _mark my words, the next time you do that I will find and strangle you_. 'Kay? Okay. How about we agree to _not_ try and die next time, _clear?_ "

I paled and realized that _maybe_ telling the whole story wasn't the best idea, but lying on the fly did _not_ work. "Crystal."

Leaf just laughed and clenched her hands several times as she talked, "No, silly, I'm not a crystal, I'm a Leaf, now _tell me_ that you _won't_ do that again. No one word answers."

"Yes Leaf, I'll try not to die anymore."

She gave a hard look, "And if you get caught in a situation what will your first choice be?"

I pursed my lips and turned my head away. "... make sure people are safe." _SMACK_

" _Run away_ damn it! We don't want you dying! You've already run into Team Rocket, I bet they'll remember you, they might try to chase you down! Promise me, just promise that you'll _avoid dying_ , alright? I'll even make the other two agree to the promise if you do."

My eyes flashed and mentally I reared back, the visage of a fearsome Rhyperior appearing, "And what about you, Leaf? Aren't you going to agree? You are _not_ going to play hero and sacrifice anything for us, _right?_ "

The girl just rolled her eyes, giving a gaze that could shatter a mountain before giving in. "Fine, I'll agree to the promise if that's what it takes to get you to not die on us, _especially_ since we'd probably just hear about it from the news, which _only_ I would listen to if you were gone, and even then only on occasion."

"Deal, but maybe we could head to brighter topics before we head back? I hear you've had a bit of trouble so far, I bet I could help, if you wanted?" It was the girl's turn to look down at her feet this time, so obviously upset by the turn that I backtracked _ASAP_.

"U-Unless except-I mean, if you didn't want any help or something, my bad there, I just thought-"

"No, you're fine, I just-" She sighed, giving me _plenty_ of pause to _think_ about how to approach this one as she seemed to deflate upon herself.

"You don't gotta be the best at battling, or the best at anything if that's not your goal. If it _is_ , you have _years_ to work on it, if you wanna be the best at something else, well there's that too. I can't _help_ with those, but I can be there if ya need to get rid of some stress with a quick battle or whatever. You don't need to to beat Surge to-"

"But I _do_ because otherwise I'll be left behind and get _lonely_ and won't be able to crack jokes or get TMs from the ship's event and then I'll be left even _further_ behind and-it'll all add up to leave me in the dust by the conference."

Seeing the pain twist her face into knots, my heart went out to her for a moment. Then I had an idea, one that she'd be unhappy to hear, but I knew that with her speech she'd enjoy the St. Anne. "Ghosts aren't exactly easy to train, but there _are_ some people who know what they're doing. I'd say you might wanna go to Lavender next, see if you can get any tips or training methods. You might be behind in power, but you'll be _miles_ ahead in trickery and exactly what ghosts can do better than anyone else. My style of combos would probably burn out your ghost types, but I _can_ tell you the secret to making them."

Her head snapped up from her feet at this, obviously not expecting a big reveal like the secret to creating techniques. "The trick is… weaknesses." I got a head tilt and obvious confusion in response and emphatically moved my arms, unfortunately still in storytelling mode. "No seriously, Gligar are known for being tanky but slow gliders, right? So, make him fast as _hell_ and he becomes a _monster_ , Numel's immobile, so I came up with a defensive technique to block enemies from rushing in while he sets up. It's not perfect, but it doesn't _need_ to be, it just has to suit set requirements."

She blinked owlishly at my arms flying around the clearing, breaking into a grin as I realized what she was staring at and cut it out with a reddening face.

"I think I'll keep trying my out ideas for a bit longer, I want to get on that boat. I _will_ get on that boat, we'll be strong enough to take on anyone on the boat too!" She gave a playful smile, confidence restored. "Thanks Testa, now get back to the Pokemon Center before I have to drag you there, I'm going to go train a bit more before heading back."

"Yeah, I'll head over there in a bit. Gotta play catch up with all three of you, y'know? See ya in a bit."

Finally waving without worrying about what it looked like, I sighed and headed back, mulling things over. There was a long way to go yet, but things were coming along nicely.

 _About that day of strategy you mentioned…_

 **A/N**

 **Woo! I actually wrote this chapter in just nine days(** _ **though looking back as I post I haven't even got through a half of the next chapter {T-T}**_ **), I figured you guys would want about a release a month instead of like 4 chapters and nine months of nothing 'cause** _ **college**_ **, so here we are. Admittedly, I still haven't gotten to the main conflict so… to be fair though, we** _ **are**_ **not even 10% of the way through, more like… what, 6 or 7% maybe? That** _ **will**_ **be showing up soon enough tho, don't worry 'bout it. I'll...** _ **definitely**_ … **y'know… not slack… or procrastinate… totally. (Tbh I have no idea how far it is I just let the characters do the work for me with interactions lol) but yeah I hope you guys enjoyed, review with feedback/suggestions pls. I ah… I'd also like to know whether you guys care about the origin of the pen name I got? It's not just Bleach (but that's a pretty decent fandom too), but yeah I might just pass on sayin' why I chose this one. Later!**

 **tHat'N'Clogs**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

 **Enjoy,**

 _ **No, he is**_ **not** _**a bait and punish combatant, he would need to be able to take hits for that to be effective in the case of a mistake. He is a hit and run combatant, and you**_ **need** _**to be able to work with this. Paranoia is a start, but you need to get a feel for the style as a whole. Now, assuming you're against a poison specialist who hasn't heard of you, who is the lead that will give the best chance of victory?**_ _Ahhh, one who hasn't heard of me? In that case wouldn't it be Skorupi? He isn't affected by most poisons and he could chip away with Night Slash, right?_ _ **He's not a bad choice, but while yes he would be the best lead, not for the reason you mentioned. It's actually because he can stall out as long as you need and give information about how the**_ **trainer** _**will react. Remember-**_ _Yes, the real fight is against the trainer, it's actually a mind game of reactions and counters. Blah blah, pissing people off is easy._

 _ **Considering the way you act, I should**_ **hope** _**that this would be the easy part. The hard part for you in particular will be managing your own emotions while still 'pissing people off.' If**_ **you** _ **flip out in any fashion similar to Mt. Moon, you will lose to any sort of opponent who also has this knowledge, assuming a roughly equivalent level of power and skill between both teams.**_ _So, just give a cracked mask?_ _ **If that works without compromising your**_ **own** _ **mental integrity, be my guest.**_ _Mmm, thanks._ _**Take a break and mull things over, you won't get much done when you've lost interest.**_

I rolled my neck a few times to work out the kinks, tired of sitting here and staring off into space. Instead turning to the scorched ground behind me, I waited for Pyralis to sit there panting and watched his latest attempt at the technique, noting that he was becoming more efficient in the use of his stamina. _Finally._

"Good work, rest for a bit and we'll see how many you can do in a row at full power, let's give it two hours and see whether it works. I _mean_ it, don't do anything for those two hours, I need an accurate read on your strength to make strategies."

I jogged over to check on the others, a sheen of sweat appearing from the midday sun. _**You'll also need to do some more physical training to keep up with wild Pokemon, but that ought to come later. For now Sting or Skorupi can keep up and that'll be enough.**_ _Speak of the devils…_ Sting was darting across the field in suicides, Skorupi keeping pace and laughing, the hissing sound moving in pitch and volume as they blurred alongside one another. _As long as I'm not running suicides at full tilt I'll be fine._

A faint amusement trickled through, obviously I'd jynxed myself. _Why must you do this to me?_ _**It's all too easy.**_

 _Hmmm, this won't go well. I doubt he'll leave himself open to ground types, and Skorupi's not going to have a great time staying in Agility forever, but, is there anything else we can do at the moment?_ _ **No, this is about the best advantage you'll get outside of flat out asking your friends who he typically uses, which could**_ **also** _**throw you off if he changes tactics.**_

"Skorupi, you should be fine now. Take a break and we'll test techniques in a bit. Sting," he looked up with hope that was _immediately_ snuffed out once I gave a dead-eyed smile. "Either you're keeping this up until Rush fails, _or_ , you're playing dodgeball with Arroyo. For an hour." He shivered and went back to dashing.

The bug type just looked to me with a challenging gaze, ready to prove what he could do after almost two weeks of training since the mess in Cerulean. Meeting his gaze, I smirked and called over Arroyo, since these two were each other's worst matchup possible.

"Begin."

Arroyo pulled back and fired several Water Pulses before Skorupi could react, covering the field but failing to drench the wary bug type. Switching to the higher power Scald, she could play a bit more aggressive due to her _potential_ for increased mobility. It didn't matter if she _used_ the mobility, it only mattered that the threat of using it was there, forcing her close ranged opponent to cover where she was and wherever she could be.

Skorupi, on the other hand, only needed to get one hit in, making this a dangerous game of attrition for either side. Arroyo with greater instant mobility but lower stamina, and Skorupi's ability to dodge and weave while still covering the entirety of the playing field that would only increase in size whether or not Arroyo missed attacks.

Skorupi suddenly rushed forward when Arroyo loosed another Scald, the field generally soaked but not for more than twenty feet in any given direction, ending with Arroyo popping up on the other end and being thrown for a loop when Skorupi _didn't_ slide when he turned around, rushing for her faster than she could react before freezing up and failing to slip into Acid Armor, leaving her poisoned by the Poison Jab, nearly unable to escape the vicious Night Slash to follow up.

Attacking with reckless abandon with the fastest string of Water Pulses I'd ever seen from the loveable blob of blue joy, covering every option Skorupi had and just _pounding_ him once she had a bead on him.

The battle wasn't over when Arroyo stopped, but rather when Skorupi lost traction despite having all four legs dug into the ground by now. Arroyo saw her chance while he had no traction and _blasted_ Skorupi with a bizarre mix of a high pressure Scald that wanted to be a Hydro Pump, but didn't have _quite_ enough pressure to reach that plateau.

Alas, Skorupi was knocked out despite his landing a finishing blow. Arroyo collapsed immediately after drenching her speedier foe, a deep purple obvious around her chest where the Poison Jab landed.

The Pokemon center cleared every morning, people heading out to train or off to the next place in search of strength. Thankfully, Ash's stomach was a bottomless pit, leaving the two sitting in near solitude. " _Tell me_ that he didn't do that, _please_ tell me you're joking."

"I _just_ listened to him spill his guts, there weren't any lies there."

Narrowing his eyes, Gary went for the crux of the issue. "But you think he's hiding something. Agh, he doesn't trust us to be able to _help_ him, the one time I wish Gramps would get out more… tch."

Her eyes softening, Leaf shifted in her seat. "He's more open than you think, he just doesn't realize we care about how _he_ is, not how powerful he is."

Gary just grunted, uncrossing his arms and showing off his smirk as Ash approached, leaving the two in a teasing banter that wouldn't end any time soon. _I wonder, would that work?_ _Misdreavus is frail so, I guess._ "Hey, Gary, think I could borrow one of your TMs from Celadon for a sec?"

 _Gastly might need some more of everything though, can we really make it before a week passes?_

Several grueling days later, the team was ready to kill me if I tried to spent even one more day just sitting around _training_ , like it was some sacrilegious taboo to train for too long. "Ready to _destroy_ this gym yet?"

A rousing cacophony answered, filled with energetic hisses, chirping, and a rumble of the earth beneath our feet.

I smirked. "Good, now let's warm up for ten minutes and then, we really _will_ be ready, Surge won't know what hit 'em."

The warm ups were a simple matter of firing out weaker attacks, a few Embers with pinpoint accuracy, slipping into Rush and Agility for a quick ten seconds of running around, and a few Scalds to put out the fires.

Satisfied that we wouldn't trip over our own feet, I returned the team and set up the mask, excitement flitting through my chest in an electric current, fighting to keep the spring out of my steps and give anything away. The lines were long gone, reportedly _hundreds_ of trainers having been fought and defeated by the gym leader in the five weeks.

Of the forty tickets he could have given out, three remained. You could also say that only two were left, a ground type specialist losing to an _electric_ gym leader would be a sign to quit, right there.

 _It's not time to quit just yet. Not this time._

The gym was built in much the same manner as previous gyms, lacking the stones adorning the outer edges as Brock, lacking the flowing shingles of Cerulean, but with a subtle hint of _something_ in the air.

I stepped into the gym and grinned, greeting the receptionist and confirming my appointment, heading right in as no one else was there.

"Just a brat huh? Alrighty kid, bring outcha 'mons, how many badges ya got?"

A sour looked crossed my face, smoothing over the mask a moment later as a smirk threatened to break through. "Let's go with two badges."

He stared for a long moment, raising an eyebrow at the blank mask. "You sure, brat? I won't go so easy on you if you overestimate yourself."

"And having you _under_ estimate me would just be too easy old man."

A strained grin crossed the giant's face, reaching for several pokeballs. "Sounds like a three on three then, kid. On three, two, one!"

Pokeballs soared through the air, being pushed almost exactly back to each of our hands with the gyroscopic sensors, releasing two bug types onto the field, a tide blue and purple clashing against the yellow dot on the field.

"Lead off with an Electroweb! Slow the thing down and give 'em a shock!"

"Agility into Poison Sting, if it gets close you'll be paralyzed."

The bugs tensed and darted away from one another, a crackling filling the air a moment before a net made of a solid electric current erupted from the tiny creature. Skorupi maneuvered under where the net would have landed, exploiting the small pause needed to fire out the web attack and responding in kind, darts coating the walls as the Joltik jumped every which way to throw off the relentless barrage.

A laugh threatened to bubble forth as I saw a positively _evil_ opportunity arrive. "Pursuit!" I glanced to Surge's face just as he realized what was about to happen, a small smirk. _Odd..._

The poison type relished the chance to get a hit in, rushing forward at full tilt before shrouding his claws in dark energy, viciously shoving them into the small body to knock it out instantly.

Recalling the fainted Joltik, Surge rolled his shoulders and sighed, releasing a tense Jolten, eyes instantly locking onto the still fresh poison type. The two crouched and entered a frantic series of dashing around and firing either Thunderbolts or Poison Stings, though Jolteon seemed a bit faster than Skorupi.

"Shock Missiles." The Jolteon fired off a last Thunderbolt, turned tail and reached the other side in a single bound, closing its eyes and crackling with electricity.

Exchanging a skeptic glance with Skorupi, he chose to fire off a volley of Poison Sting at his faster opponent.

Neither of us expected the frail electric type to simply tank the hits, nor did we like the implications. "Night Slash into Cross Poison! Don't let it finish that move!"

A monstrous grin crossed Surge's face at that moment, a grin that left chills running down my spine as whatever he was preparing had completed. "Finish 'em of Jolteon, Shock Missiles!" The electric type drew itself up, shivering and releasing several bolts crackling with power. Skorupi rushed to dodge, only to find that the bolts kept seeking him. His fate was sealed when the strain of slipping into Agility at every turn just to keep up took its toll, leaving him without a method of escape. I let him go down with the hit, checking just in case he somehow made it out, recalling him when the scorched circle was cleared of smoke.

 _The speed game huh?_ "Sting, let's fight the good fight an' finish this one off." A fire burned in my eyes, a smile beginning to crack through, not breaking the mask just yet. "Show this guy the Rush of battle ya know?"

The devious ground type darted into the fray, heedless of any Thunderbolts and too quick to fire off a Swift, Jolteon was now on the retreat from the blisteringly fast Gligar. Gligar closed in and finished off the fast electric type with a few well placed Cross Poisons in front of it and Fury Cutter as it was distracted. An icy chill sunk in claws and raked down my spine as Surge's smirk from earlier became a laugh of barbaric proportions, the giant towering over the field with a menacing glint in his eye upon grabbing the last Pokeball.

"Show the brat some _real_ power Raichu!" The uproar of laughter continuing, I regarded _this_ as Surge's Ace in the hole.

"A big _rat_? Bring it on then Surge, we'll crush whatever mousey tricks you wanna pull."

The laughter intensified, the man doubling over as the Raichu bristled and began the fight. With a _Thunderbolt._ _What kind of stup-_ I cut off any thoughts I had at that moment, because from purely the voltage of the attack, Sting was thrown to the other side of the field and into the wall as he rested up from Rush. Then I realized that I might've made the electric type a bit irritated, and _hey, that might have been a good idea._

 _ **I've told you to shut your mouth in a fight, but oh sure, don't listen to the battle expert.**_ _Shut up._

The oversized mouse stalked over to Sting, arrogantly sparking its cheeks and taking him lightly. "Sting, if they wanna play hardball, then we can too. Let's show 'em just what an Onslaught is like."

The ground type pushed himself out of the wall, recovered from Rush and hissed in vindictive glee at what he heard. Pausing for a moment, he Disappeared and nigh instantly was behind the mouse, ready to swipe with Poisoned claws before being batted away like he was nothing by a glowing hand. _Shit, even_ Onslaught _doesn't help? What_ is _this thing?_

"Change of plans, Poison Sting! Go down to Agility and you'll be faster, it looks like melee combat is a loss." He grit his teeth and nodded, moving to a defensive position and hailing needles of poison over the field, only for Raichu to pop a Thunderbolt and cut through the entire swath before rushing in itself. The mouse was upon Sting in a bout of Quick Attack that neither of us expected, only able to aim his mouth at the creature before being batted into unconsciousness with another glowing Brick Break.

Surge gave the rat a scratch behind its ear as it stood beside him in another show of Quick Attack. "You don't want to piss her off, kid. Assuming that your ground type would be fine is about the worst thing you can do against _this_ Raichu. Ready to give in?"

I crossed my arms and propped up my head to show a bored face, one that didn't match the wild eyes filled with excitement and a _need_ for battle. "I don't know Surge, are you ready to give me a badge and a ticket?" The mask fell away completely, the too-wide grin coating my face leading into an odd cross somewhere between intrigue and mild horror on the gym leader's face.

"Whatever you say, brat. You're not beating Raichu here with cheap tricks like that speed boosting on a Gligar."

The grin grew _wider_ to the point of almost hurting as I stared him down and slowly pulled out the third Pokeball on my belt. "Good thing Pyralis here doesn't rely on 'cheap tricks.'"

A flash of light later and Pyralis was glancing around the field and finally landing on Raichu, snorting as an Earth Power shot towards the electric type.

Raichu didn't stick around to see what it was like, Pokemon and trainer's eyes widening as the Earth Power nearly reached the roof with the eerie light.

Smiles all around, the battle began in earnest as Raichu fired a Thunderbolt, barely making Numel budge as he used Corona to deal with most of the electric move's power. Raichu sprinted forward in the glow of Quick Attack, tail now a solid metal while Numel fired Flame Bursts in his path, only hit by glancing remnants of the fiery explosions.

Upon reaching the fire type, Corona being back in place was no obstacle to the raging mouse, charging straight through as Numel's eyes flashed. And another Earth Power was fired at point blank.

That exchange didn't go so well for Raichu, who by now was burned and bruised, but still had eyes burning with determination as he back off and fired off Swift after Swift as approaching wasn't looking like the best option.

It was most unfortunate for Raichu, but Numel had no issues with long ranged warfare. The fire type relished in destroying swaths of Swift with naught but a Flame Burst, some of the next batch of stars the only things blocking Raichu from taking the brunt of the bursting remnants, though the war of attrition couldn't last. Raichu became so utterly focused on beating Numel's bursts of flame that when Surge shouted a warning to move, the electric pokemon paused for a half a moment, stopping in the middle of the motion to use Swift once more for but a moment.

That moment cost him, a hidden Earth Power throwing the mouse off its feet and leaving it sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily but _still_ not going down. Numel was panting, obviously still hampered by his overpowering attacks draining huge portions of stamina, but without relying too much on combo moves he was no simple one hit wonder. "Finish this with a Rupture into Flame Burst if it jumps."

Raichu tensed, unsure of what was happening as Numel took a breath and stamped the ground with a mighty cry, the floor of the battlefield shattering as bright yellow light show out of every single crack, flaring in unison as Numel poured more into the attack and watched carefully, a flame building in his mouth if the mouse jumped. For a moment, Raichu slipped into Quick Attack and was able to avoid most of the move by leaping from upturned rock to rock. Then Pyralis' pinpoint Flame Burst shot that pan into burning tatters, throwing the electric type onto the unforgiving ground and knocking it out.

Surge blinked with a look of surprise on his face, turning to Pyralis with an appraising eye as he grabbed Raichu's Pokeball. "You've got a pretty powerful little Numel there, I can respect that. We went a bit easy on ya considerin' you're just a brat at this point, but well done. Now that you _actually_ have two badges, get on the boat and kick some ass for me, huh?" The giant gave a smirk, twirling a badge and rummaging in his many pockets for a ticket before he handed the two over.

I snorted fondly, shaking my head. "We'll see next time, make sure not to cause too many power surges while you wait for another worthy fighter hmm?" The mischievous grin became a hissing laugh, unable to hold in the glee I felt right then.

 _Time to get through the last step._ _**Leave me out.**_

Trudging down the hall and into her room, she carefully closed the door and slumped down, head in her hands. _I can't even keep up to the third gym, now they're ahead and they might get advantages and-_ a loud crinkle echoed, startling Leaf into unclenching her hands and sucking in a breath.

When nothing came out of the shadows to eviscerate her, she quietly uncurled from the ball and stood up, the loud crackling making her freeze momentarily. _Quit that!_

She glanced around for what could be making that friggin' sound, irritably rummaging through whatever was on the floor until she noticed the white, _thing_ , stuck under the door.

 _Tape?_ Suspicious of whatever somebody would stick under her door just to make sure she noticed, Leaf prepared for some stupid proposal, or wish to go to a dance or som-" _WHAT?!"_ She covered her mouth, red faced and wide eyed, calming down from her outburst and rubbing her eyes at what she had got. _You still weren't good enough, you were just_ given _this chance, you don't deser_ \- She forcibly held her breath and felt the pressure building up in her head, walking over to the bed and passing out for a half second. The poisonous voices were gone, it was all good.

She wasn't down for the count yet.

'And how would _you_ know the importance of speed? I'd run _circles_ around you and you'd be stuck wasting your strength. What _then_ huh?'

'Circles, huh? Those would have to be pretty close circles. And you know what happens when you get too close to a Lava Plume? Speaking of using up strength little stinger… remind me how long you can keep up that move of yours?'

Tensions running high, the two stared each other down with a war of ideals waged between the two.

Then Testa showed up and called that they were going somewhere, leaving the two blinking in confusion. 'Am I the only one wondering what happened to that ship he was going on?'

'No, you're not. Now stop stalling and admit it; Power is better.'

' _Lies._ '

'Whatever helps you sleep little bee.'

' _I am not a friggin' bee!'_

Testa walked up, head tilted in his I'm-confused-but-this-isn't-my-problem look. "You guys wanna walk outside or just ride along?"

Sting very obviously propped himself into a pose that implied thinking, pondering his choices. 'I'll get even _faster_ by walking around, and I'll have more stamina too. Too bad you can't keep up isn't it?'

'Too bad you have to deal with being the suck up huh?'

'...We'll see who has better techniques later.'

It was a wonderfully bustling city, full of people, full of life. Plenty of things to distract from the boat ride of a lifetime. What could _possibly_ go wrong?

 _ **One of these days you're going to eat those words you know.**_ _Sure, but where's the fun without a little risk eh?_ _Not like somebody's going to die today or somethin,' y'know?_ I walked down the street, glancing every which way at all of the little hotspots the size of Pallet in each glance along the street, rare pokemon by the sides of dozens of trainers to a single look.

Glancing over at the largest building in the golden city, I grinned and rushed toward my destination. _**Just keep some in case of an emergency, no point in getting stronger just to die without food.**_ _Fair point. I'll probably keep half in reserve._ The elevator dinged a few times, leaving a number _5_ of bright red lines.

Dozens of shelves laid out before me, and I went to the one with the highest prices. _Never lucky enough for the good ones to be on sale huh?_ Split just stayed silent, a facepalm imprinting in my head as I made my selection. I chewed on my lip incessantly, _finally_ asking for help on how to actually operate the thing after a long minute of deliberation.

 _ **Stop gawking at it and go, your wallet's not even that empty.**_ _But that's for just_ three! _What if-_ _ **GO!**_

I rushed down the stairs in a daze, almost running into a few people on the way down as I positively buzzed with ideas of what the team would be able to do with these.

 _Finally_ , I ran out into whatever route outside of Goldenrod and let out the party in a grassy corner, uncomfortable with the idea of dozens of people just staring in this suddenly enormous region.

"Come on guys, let's see what goodies we have!" I practically did a little dance in front of the four, confusing them and seemingly frightening Sting with the antics. "Toda~y, we'll have some _fun_ testing these out. Now, who's on first?"

Pyralis rolled his eyes, a glimmer of amusement at what joke this would be, Skorupi stepped back and puffed up his chest at Sting's glance, Sting looked me up and down warily, and Arroyo looked at the team and chirped, sliding forward. "Well, glad _someone_ here is brave, thanks Arro. One sec and you'll know what we're doing, alright? Trust me, you'll like this too."

Returning the little lady with an encouraging grin, I tossed up her Pokeball and carefully placed it in the handheld 'dex attachment. It glowed an eerie purple and blinked a faint white, almost as if unsure what color it should be before gaining a yellow tinge.

"Now, which of you three wants to fight against Arroyo right now? No way to get used to this but practice." A maniacal cackling followed, leaving me weezing once again before Pyralis stood before me, squared stance and all. " _Interesting,_ thanks Pyralis." I grinned in full force and released Arroyo once more, a dazed look in her eyes until she blinked it away, head cocked in surprise. "Time to spice this up! Pyralis, you do whatever you think is best and I'll lead Arroyo."

"Water Pulse any long range attacks, when he uses Earth Power I want you to use Acid Armor to escape. You win the long game, so play it as passive as you need."

Pyralis opened up with an Ancientpower, Arroyo charging up Water Pulse to power through it and reveal the fire type with a foot stamped down, a glowing crack barreling towards Arroyo. "Harden!" Just before Arroyo could panic, she heard the shout and latched onto it, slowing the fluids and stiffening her body a moment before the impact.

When she landed, Arroyo was pretty much fine aside from a few minor scrapes that were ignored for the moment, fiercely baring her gums. Pyralis snorted and I just managed to muffle my own laugh before I realized that it was _on_ _purpose_.

As Pyralis snorted and closed his eyes for that moment, there was a big glob of purple goo headed for his face. Corona flared up at the last second, burning off most of the poison as the traces splattered onto his side. A flare of Lava Plume later, the ground type was spewing steam from his nose and planting his legs into the ground with cracks. "Arroyo get that water ready _now!_ "

The meteors just about _obliterated_ any semblance of flat ground in the small clearing, a faint buzzing from the noise bothering my ears. Pyralis almost fainted, but Arroyo was nowhere to be found. "Arro? You there?" A _crack_ split the air as a rock was violently shoved out of the way, a panting water type in a puddle underneath the cover of rocks. _**We'll talk about that later**_. _Huh?_ _ **Later.**_

Shaking off whatever weirdness Split was talking about, I grit my teeth and tried to pop my ears. "The _hell_ what is that _buzzing!_ " Pyralis cocked his head and his eyes shot open as it got stronger, the fire type shooting an Ember straight at me…!

I spun around, heart racing as the buzzing creature in front of me stopped on a dime to avoid the Ember and dove straight for me.

"Sting! Skorupi! Help!" I lunged to the side at the last second as the buzzing creature flew over me, my ears ringing and a headache mounting into a real problem. The buzzing suddenly intensified and _echoed_ , for some reason, getting louder and louder as it all faded.

The bed was oddly coarse, it was a touch warmer than usual too. Somethin' sticky was all around my head, and someone was shaking me awake. "Five more minutes 'fessor." I rolled over.

And so he continued, curiously just shaking me this time. _Ears hurt?_ I blearily opened my eyes, squinting at the invasion of light and bright green surroundings. "'Fessor, I thought we were done withese stuff, y'said a while ago."

More shaking, shaking, and he kept _shaking!_ "Yo, 'fessor, 'm up, whaddya want so badly." I blinked and lazily looked around the room, seeing trees and grass all around. "Why are we-" A yawn decided to painfully stretch my mouth as an interruption, throwing off what little train of thought I was starting, "ou' here anyway?"

 _Wai-wha?_ _ **Brat!**_ _Huh? Split?_ _ **DAMNIT YOU STUPID BRAT GET**_ **UP** _ **ALREADY!**_ _Ahh… what happened?_ _**GET UP DAMN YOU!**_ _Jesus man…_ _no need to ye-_ The buzzing was back. That damned flying _menace_ was back. I shot up and raced over to where that _noise_ was coming from, "Get _over here you little…!"_ _Eh?_

There was a disturbingly bright red segmented body, a green head, and wings that wouldn't fit any other Pokemon I could think of. Unfortunately, it was enamored with the bright red of the Pokedex the professor handed me. _Uhhhhhh…_ Sting was on the ground clutching his ears as Skorupi chittered and the red bug type answered, back and forth.

"Skorupi? Could you maybe… get the Pokedex back? It's not really mine, it's the professor's and it's sorta important." My nervous smile dropped when the poison type simply stuck out his tongue, turning his back completely and continuing to chatter. A tired sigh escaped my lips at the next thought. _One of these days…_

It soared through the air and wobbled, clicking after the third shake, leaving the Pokedex lying on the ground and Skorupi to slowly blink at where the red creature was standing. He relentlessly poked my leg until I let the bug type out again, scanning it with the newly precious device in my hands. The one it shot straight for. _Thankfully_ , the professor included a function to scan a Pokeball with the 'dex if it was close enough.

Yanma, the toneless voice droned. The Clear Wing Pokemon,

This specimen is female and has the ability Compound Eyes, giving three hundred and sixty degree vision. It knows the following moves;

Quick Attack, Supersonic, Hypnosis, and Wing Attack.

 _Oh, tha~t explains the headaches. Shit._ "You okay Sting? Sorry, I'll let you out again later." A red flash later, I dug through the little extra file on the side of Yanma's entry. A double take later, I stared at the ball in my hand with _wonder_ at the chances. _Huh? She has what?!_

I tucked the glittering jewel in my pocket and let her out again, the flying type's buzzing a simple background for now. "So Yanma, red things?" There was no response but a tilt of the head, "Shiny things then?" _That_ was it if her buzzing around me was any indication. "We can get you shiny things, but I'll need to ask for your help in battle sometimes okay?" I reached into the bad and pulled out an Oran berry for Yanma, the bug gripping and nibbling the berry as it dropped to the ground. Skorupi slowly crept up for more chatting without a care in the world.

 _ **About that battle with Pyralis and Arroyo, do you remember what happened at the end?**_ _Hmm? Yeah, Pyralis used Meteor Shower and Arroyo's water slid into a crack before it could evaporate, lucky right?_ _ **I want to hit you so**_ **badly** _**right now. Instead of relying on luck, just have Arroyo learn Earth Power from him to do that herself.**_ … _That actually sounds like a good idea. Heh, thanks. I'll work on that._

"Hey Pyralis, d'you wanna know how Arro threw sludge at you out of nowhere?" An exaggerated nod followed, from the fire type, the bugs simply chatting away. "W~ell, let me _show_ you. One sec," I returned Pyralis, a look of intrigue on his face as I carefully hid the 'dex attachment from Yanma and placed Pyralis' Pokeball in the slot, the mild white glowing to a light green after a moment.

Another flash of light and Pyralis was staring off into space for a moment before shaking himself off, glancing at me in wonder. "Ready to see what you got? Hidden Power!"

A white light shone from Pyralis' mouth before the clearing's grass _exploded_ with energy, poofing into a shower of little blades of grass. "We _might_ need to work on focusing that one. I can't believe I'm saying this, but put some more power into it and we'll see what happens, Hidden Power!"

As it turns out, Yanma happen to be pretty frail Pokemon, and she was pretty fresh out into the world, so there wasn't much to build on, but that day outside Goldenrod did wonders for everyone on the team with the three tm's I'd bought. Expensive as all _hell_ , but shaping up to be worth it.

I had a new technique idea for Sting running through my mind, a whole technique that was almost completed in a single _afternoon_ for Skorupi, Pyralis had a way to _decimate_ pesky water types and Arroyo had some serious firepower with Sludge Bomb and, soon enough, Earth Power. Things were shaping up _quite_ nicely for the team.

 _Disaster has struck Vermillion tonight as on the St. Anne's maiden voyage, the ship went down. The league is currently working on search and rescue for any survivors floating out in that storm, we'll get back to you soon._

Then, things weren't so fine.

 _-survivors in that storm-_ If they were talking about finding _survivors_ , what happened to Ash and Gary?

What had happened to Leaf? _No, no no~ oh no. Not happening, I'm just delirious and this'll_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _blow_ _ **a**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _y by tomorrow. Heh, hehehehehe._ A few heads turned my way at the twitching giggles, the mask back in place before anything else could happen.

 _ **Kid, just because things happen doesn't mean your friends-**_ _Shut up!_ I snapped at him, hands clenching with the need to strangle the fucker screwing with my peace and quiet at the moment. _This, is all going to be_ _ **F**_ _ **i**_ _n_ _e_ _by tomorrow,_ got it _Split? I said it will be_ fine. _Now shove off, out, shoo, leave._

Alone with thoughts of peace and moments of methodically breaking trinkets into hundreds of tiny shards, I just about lost it. _They'll be fine, it'll all be fine. None of those three are going to… go down, they're good and strong, they beat Surge! Leaf… Leaf will be fine. She has to be_. _I'm not going to screw everything up-not this time._

 _Never again._

 **A/N**

 **Okay.**

 **So, here's chapter… ah… six? (edit: this is chap. 7…) I'm not sure whether it's a good or a bad sign that I don't remember lol. Giving off any large story kinda vibes? Good. Things are about to heat up, and I don't mean Pyralis is evolving(I mean, he** _ **will**_ **, just not yet anyway). Now, a note to all who read the first chapter and kept going.**

 _ **Sweet Jesus I am sincerely and completely sorry.  
**_

 **I'll be updating that… y'know… sometime in the near future. I'm rewriting it as we speak but rewriting… let's go with 'not my strong suit.' I'll get there within the next few chapters but honestly, I am sorry, I went back to read it and I was legitimately pained to read some of that.**

 _ **Hopefully**_ **that means I will be(and** _ **am**_ **)better now, though idk atm.**

 **If you're here after it's been updated… be grateful you didn't see it.**

 **If you enjoyed either the story or the long winded-A/N, please review!**

 **Feedback is greatly appreciated! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

 **Don't ask me why things happen to the characters, I didn't have half of this stuff plotted when started chapter 3, let alone one. \\(-_-)/ I swear he's a ground type trainer,** _ **trust me.**_

 **Not like anything could go wrong with** _ **that**_ **, right?**

The morning began with a quiet room, devoid of any happy chirping, excited chittering or even the already-familiar buzz of Yanma.

I sighed and stretched, feeling oddly well rested and ignoring the bad my habit of breaking things again. _What bugged me so much?_

Shrugging, I trudged downstairs and grabbed bread and milk. Actually getting full could come before anything interesting. _And that wraps up this week's weather, back to you Kittan. Thanks Jorgun, we're back with more news of the St. Anne last night, only a few of the passengers have been found by the league, some people are still holdin' on to hope that water types coulda saved a buncha people. I don't know about you guys, but I'll be hopin' all I can for all these guys. The league's workin' on catchin' the bastards, but no one knows what happened yet. We'll keep ya up to date, so stay tuned, Kanto._

 _ **Brat, if you freak out here you'll be put into a damned facility. Hold your ponyta for a minute, the train isn't going anywhere.**_ _I hate it when you're right, you know that?_

 _ **Quit whining, your friends will be just fine**_. _And how would you know? What if they AREN'T damn you, they could be hurt or worse._ Damn it, I wasn't even talking and my throat closed up. _Damnit Split. Now we're delayed 'til I get some composure back. Bastard._

The nurse walked back into the doorway, a frown on her face. "Young lady, you have a suspicious visitor. Do you know anybody by the name 'Testa?'"

Leaf suddenly tensed and tried to push herself up, wincing as her arms protested the sudden motion. "Yes, I know Testa. You said he's here? Is he allowed in yet?"

The nurse pursed her lips, "If you have no objections dear, but I'll be in the corner watching." She walked off, probably to show Testa the way. It was odd though. _Why is she so suspicious?_

The floors creaked and groaned, the only hint that anyone was walking along before the nurse crossed her arms and held the door. The hushed, emotionless tone echoed in the small space, his mask almost fully in place. "Leaf, I-are you-you hurt?" The mask cracked, his brows and frown reflected what his eyes had been revealing the whole time as he slipped into a pained whisper. "What happened?"

She took a deep breath, recalling all of the burning carnage with a shiver. "Something attacked the St. Anne, things were burning, and then these. these guys in suits showed up, and they robbed a lot of people and threw them overboard and they searched the cabins and I heard them beating people and it was-"

" _Enough!_ " Both kids jumped, Testa's entire body coiled like a spring as Leaf sucked in a breath and coughed as she continued. "If you make her hyperventilate again after the poor girl almost _drowned_ , I will shove you out of here faster than a Jolteon! Got it brat?"

Testa nodded with wide eyes, his legs still tense and shaking as he turned back to Leaf. "Didn't mean t-No. 'm sorry, that was my fault. Shouldn't've asked you that so soon. How, do you know how Ash and Gary are? Where are they?"

Leaf's eyes dimmed, her face twisting into a bitter mess, "Ash made a stupid choice that saved his life, Gary was pulled away by his Wartortle last I saw. I don't know where they went, but I think they're okay."

His eyes flashed with something as his face stilled. "Did-were you three split up? When they left I mean."

"Well, yeah. Sorta." She shuffled and rolled over, looking to the side. "Ash's Magikarp evolved at the last second, he was a long ways from the ship by then, and Wartortle was already tired before the ship was attacked, so there was no way he could carry two-"

His whisper was like a blade that cut through her rambling explanation. "Leaf, of all things, did you tell them to _leave you behind?_ "

She stilled for a moment, shrinking back and flicking her eyes at the nurse. "Kid, I think it's time for you to leave now."

He frowned and opened his mouth, only to take a long look at Leaf lying there in the hospital bed, his own visage twisting into a bitter frown as his shoulders drooped and he looked towards the nurse. "Yes, ma'am. Lead the way."

It was a lonely night in the hospital.

The field was plain, empty. Devoid of things to get in the way.

"Earth Power! Earth Power!" Panting filled the field of course, but no _distractions_. "Pyralis, show her again. We'll get these and scale our way to the top. I'll work on what combo moves we can put into this once I see how you guys use the move normally, so for now we just need to learn new ones and perfect them." The two nodded, turning back to the jagged ground and running through more drills.

Three flashes of light and suddenly there was more to work on. "Sting, I'll need you to work with Yanma and get some dodging instincts in. Don't give me that, we both know that you might have to fight another sound-based Pokemon, getting used to it slowly is better. Skorupi, I have an idea with Hidden Power. Follow me." The poison specialists were seemingly caught flat-footed by the demeanor, glancing at one another before hastily getting to work.

I appreciated how open the space was after Johto's shock of people _everywhere_ , what with people avoiding Vermillion at the moment. "Skorupi, you know how you poison enemies with Poison Jab and Poison Sting, yes? There _is_ a way for you to do this without getting close _or_ sitting still, and hopefully without anyone noticing until it's far too late. With me?" The bug nodded, squaring himself and preparing for some complicated explanation. "Sludge Bomb on the ground, now use Hidden Power on it. The only real trick is getting Hidden Power to light up."

He blinked and stared back at me, tilting his head in an obvious question. "Right, I read about this too. It described something about flipping the inner energy of the move to the outside, try holding it just in front of your mouth like a beam attack. Er, like Poison Sting, just don't burn your mouth." A few tries later, the dim red orb burst into sparks as it hit the poison. "Good, now just work on this, I'll explain how useful this'll be later, and how we can trick enemies with it."

 _ **Don't push them too hard, it'll only slow them down to do too much.**_ _Splitting_ my _focus however, is entirely doable. No more of this waiting for shit to happen._ My lips tightened at the images of the old man flashing past, Leaf laying in a hospital bed and the conjured injuries of Ash and Gary. _Not this damned time._

 _ **Be careful what you wish for, getting stronger may not be all it's cracked up to be.**_ _If that's what it takes._ _Now leave, I have important things to focus on._ The dex's note page was a _godsend_ , all the team's basic moves laid out like a map in front of me.

It was a long night, techniques thought up and shot down every few minutes.

It was a bright morning, laying on the ground. _I_ wasn't so bright, but sleeping on the ground was a small price to pay. The rest of the team had curled up on top of me; Arro in my hair, Sting lying on an arm like a Meowth, Pyralis a relaxing warmth off to the left and Skorupi curled up against my other arm.

Lying there, I simply thought back on what we'd been doing. Techniques, power, efficiency, they were all there, and they weren't easy. They were damn near black holes, you could fall into just doing one and never perfect it.

But it was easier than seeing all that pain on everyone's faces.

It was easier than giving up, seeing them alone in the world's dangers.

A buzzing rang out, loud as a gunshot in the relative silence. Skorupi shot to his feet, Sting following before even a second could pass, Pyralis snorted and closed his eyes, and Arro didn't make a sound. "Relax guys, you four are laying on me, but we have the new team member." The soft smile dropped as thoughts drifted toward me, the haze of sleepiness fully dispelled.

"So, guys. We've just been wandering along to fight gyms so far, but there's a route I have planned that'll take us through everything we'll need. We won't be fighting a gym for quite a while, but letting Yanma catch up and getting stronger overall will be our goals. I bet that we can even get one of you guys to evolve if we work hard enough, you guys in?"

The familiar chorus answered, leading me to nod and smile deviously. "Glad you agree, now, it's time to walk to Celadon. It's only a few days journey though, so this oughta be _easy_ for you guys." Three drooped, Skorupi snickered, and Yanma flew down from the tree at my beckoning as we set off.

"Oh isn't this just _fun_ you guys? Such a wonderful group activity we had today!" The oh so sweet familiar chorus rang out, a despair palpable in the air around them. Skorupi had quit snickering after realizing rushing ahead wouldn't help him any, stuck stumbling along with the others. The long day wore on them, crushing Sting's hope as he watched Yanma buzz along without a care.

"I have an _idea_ you guys, and _this one_ will be more fun than walking," groans all around, "It'll even get you out of it for a bit, if you win." Dead silence.

I smiled maniacally. "IF you win this little tournament, you can sit out your choice of either tomorrow or the next day, since this journey will be over by the third." The grin only grew at the spirited stares they gave me. They weren't done just yet.

"Arroyo and Pyralis is match one, Skorupi and Sting, you two are up next. Those winners will fight each other, and _that_ winner will fight Yanma, since Yanma only has about five moves _total_ , and not a single combo move."

The first two squared off, a surprising venom in Arroyo's glare. Pyralis' was just par for the course. "Begin!"

A bright green orb shot out, Arroyo responding with a quick Sludge Bomb and several Water Pulses to follow up.

Pyralis shot a Flame Burst forward and stamped his foot, the cracks spreading around the field lacking that deadly golden light. The steam pervaded the field and hid both from view, the splashes and steaming of more water the only noise to escape the area.

In quick succession the ground gave a deep rumble, Arroyo cried out, and the noise all cut out. The steam slowly wafted away, revealing Arro lying on the ground, fainted. Pyralis was panting pretty hard, but he'd have time to rest before his next match. There was a deep hole near where Arro had obviously been thrown by a blast, though no indication of where it led. "Pyralis, good job. I'll ask what you did later, right now Sting and Skorupi are up."

Sting sat with his back against a tree, Skorupi in the open a short distance away. "Begin!"

Skorupi rushed back, turning around with claws extended-To no avail. Sting had scrambled up the tree, lost to sight among the leaves.

Until they were shredded by hundreds of needles from Skorupi anyway, putting the bug energy in Pin Missile to good use. Sting was essentially unharmed by the underpowered spread attack, though that wasn't Skorupi's goal. Dark slashes sliced through the air, flying towards Sting under the cover of dusk.

Just as the Night Slash connected with Sting, a bright green glow shone from his claws, eviscerating the relatively weak beams. Sting puffed up at the dissipating slashes, hopping down to avoid the next few and stalking towards Skorupi.

The two clashed, dashing in and around one another for minutes on end as Skorupi's speed began to overwhelm Sting's defenses, even bolstered by Harden. The two circled in a completely different dance, Skorupi darting in and out of the fringes of Sting's reach, Sting simply rotating in a tight circle and defending himself.

Neither were used to such drawn out fights, and it was showing. Sting's defenses had more and more holes exploited by Skorupi, but when Skorupi tripped it was all over. Flipping over onto his face, the bug type had no chance to pick himself up before being hit with a _ruthless_ Slash, finishing him off. _Hmmm…_ "Alright, ten minute break before you two face off."

 _ **Admirable tenacity from Skorupi, though he should have known that he couldn't fight Sting of all opponents head on.**_ _I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did, the walk and using Night Slash just to bother Sting into fighting must have been exhausting._ _ **You forget that Sting has an even harder time walking along, though I do see your point.**_ More and more technique ideas began flitting through my mind, the power we'd gain in Celadon tantalizingly close.

 _ **It's been more than ten minutes you know.**_ _What? Ah, whatever. They both get the rest time, so whatever._ "Ready or not, here we go guys. Begin!" Sting scrambled over to the field where Pyralis was just standing up, the fire type lazily throwing an Ember just in front of Sting, laughing as he freaked out over dodging the flames by a hair.

Sting's fuse was a _touch_ shorter after the long day he'd had. Eyes flashing in rage, he lobbed an oversized Sludge Bomb and sprung straight into Onslaught, the glow of Slash coating both claws as the Sludge Bomb approached from above. Normally this would be a worst case scenario, a tanky beast rushing at you with all its might, an attack approaching from the side, leaving one unable to block both, and _usually_ spelling defeat for a combatant.

 _Unless_ , of course…

A loud boom sounded with a sudden flash of red flames,

…Your name was Pyralis.

The Lava Plume took care of the charging flying type as well as burning away the poison before it could touch him.

Sting rushed away before the remnants of the explosion had burned out, tiny flares left burning on the singed edges of the clearing. Pyralis knew full well he wouldn't be able to track the Gligar, so he simply waited. Corona was ready, and Pyralis had more power than Sting by _miles_.

It really was a shame, too bad really.

Too bad Sting had been paying attention.

The gas from Sludge Bomb had settled in front of Pyralis, a ticking time bomb without him ever realizing.

Sting only fired off volleys of Poison Sting, never approaching for what felt like an eternity.

The match was over the second Sting tricked Pyralis. _Seems to be a recurring theme…_ "Hey Yanma, Sting, guess what." Their only hint was a sadistic grin before Sting paled like a Froslass. "Begin!"

Yanma flew over and hovered just above Sting, the focused Supersonic not only confusing Sting but also hurt his sensitive ears, leaving the ground type lying down clutching his head before Yanma slowly formed a pale blue orb between its legs, releasing the completed sphere just as Sting began to push himself off the ground. Even with Yanma's currently lacking raw power, Sting stood no chance against the icy doom awaiting him. With a thin coat of frost covering his back and most of his wings, Sting nigh instantly unconscious.

"Heh, good job Yanma. Now it's your choice of, _three_ options actually. Sit out tomorrow, sit out the next day, or don't sit out at all, _just_ to rub it in, though you'll get stronger for it too. So, whaddya say?" Yanma just landed and thought for a moment. _Ohhhhhhhhh shit._ _ **Finally figured it out?**_ _Shut it._ "So, ah, Skorupi? Could you maybe… translate for Yanma for now? Hehe, ahh, sorry guys. I'll work on that next." _If I could get my shit together one of these days, that'd be nice._

The two chattered back and forth, the drooping poison type lacking almost all of his usual vigor at the moment. He turned back to me, slowly nodding and scratching three ticks marks on the ground.

I brightened and turned to Yanma with a newfound respect glimmering in my eyes, "Alright! I'm proud of you Yanma, I'm proud of how far _all_ of you have come. We'll have dinner, rest up, and be on the road tomorrow, okay? I'll take it a bit easier on you guys too, we're almost to Saffron to tell you the truth." I snickered at the groans, falling into the mechanically routine of grabbing all the bowls and filling them with generic food. A bit in my hand to remember how _dry_ it was, and then rations.

 _ **If they're**_ **that** _**bad, just buy better food.**_ _You know_ damn _well why I haven't done that._ _ **Still a bad idea to use it all up.**_ _It's still a bad idea to shy away from getting better._

Laying down in the sleeping bag, I glanced up at the stars from under the tree. I shuffled forward to get a better view, carefully trying not to disturb Arro or Sting-the other three had opted for the Pokeballs-to no avail. Sting woke up, seeing my restlessness, lightly jabbed me in the side and hung from a tree branch. Arro woke up at my squawk, humming sleepily. I set her down and just, looked around for a long while.

By the time the stars really began to glimmer and shine, my gaze was slack and I was sleeping on the flat ground.

A squawk, a raspy sigh, and aaAA _AAAH!_ "wHA! _Shit_ I'm up I'm up! What the _hell_?!" I'd been jabbed and shot to my feet, tripping over my own legs that were suddenly _freezing_ holy- _ **BRAT!**_ _A.) You suck, B.) whaa, wh~y…_ _ **It's past ten.**_ _FUXKSIN' SH-_ " _Quit jabbing me!_ " I hissed angrily and looked down, glaring at Sting. "I'm up, you can quit that now." Another jab in the leg. I smiled sweetly. "Hey Sting, wanna do this for an extra day after we reach Celadon?" And another one. " _Without any rest in between?"_ My eye was twitching, I was completely prepared to make Sting run miles with Skorupi, just _waiting_ for him to give me a reason.

"Say, aren't you that kid from Viridian Forest?" I whirled around, memories flashing through my mind momentarily as I desperately tried to recall who this could _be_ -Oh.

"Yeah, that'd be me. I, ah, I might've overslept today, heh." _**He can see that.**_ _Shut. UP!_ "I've gotten a bit better since then, and-wait, didn't you mention-"

"That we'd be able to help train you? Why yes, I believe I _did_ mention something of the sort. I believe a simple battle would help me discern your level, and whether you'd be ready to join us." Wow, that'd be _eas-Ahhhh, damn it_!

"Well, you see, I'd _like_ to do that, but at the moment the team is a bit tired, and I have a plan to head to Celadon and grab some items then head to Lavender for something important. Could I meet you there, maybe? Anywhere near there is fine, too, I just can't right now." I smiled apologetically, shrugging my shoulders at the end.

He immediately brightened up at the mention, his smile growing as he inclined his head. "Why _yes_ actually, Lavender would be perfect. When do you think you could be there, say, within three weeks?"

"Easily! I can get there in about a week and a half if I rush-"

"No no, please, take your time. We'll hold our battle there, whenever you reach the area. I will be there, don't you worry. I suppose I'll see you later?"

"Sounds good, but, I never got your name."

I looked on expectantly as he gave a wolfish grin. "Oh my, it seems to have slipped my mind as well. The only rule is that you can't tell anyone, the boss doesn't want all these weak trainers flocking towards him as a quick fix method, you know?" He gave one last glance as I nodded eagerly, content to see what my answer would be before giving his own as his eyes took on the smallest hint of malice.

"My name," he said with a small flourish towards himself as he gave a shallow bow, "is Archer."

The bright city was reminiscent of both Goldenrod and Saffron really, just with more, _Kanto_ ; fewer people and less bustle.

The team had all agreed to taking a break in their Pokeballs, stasis switched on just to spare them some soreness for a bit. Not like they'd be relaxing for too long, but they would need a break after walking so far.

 _ **This is a bad plan, you shouldn't do it.**_ _We'll see. With this, we can start another disgustingly powerful technique, and just grab some all around powerful coverage._ _ **Hmm, that too, but don't trust that guy. Archer. I don't like the idea of getting more powerful for free. There**_ **will** _**be a catch, don't do it.**_ _Wuss._

 _This guy had every chance to do whatever he wanted_ both times _he's found me, it'll be_ fine. I tuned out whatever else he tried to say, focusing on just getting to the TM department.

The elevator was almost exactly the same, the scenery outside the only difference, and getting to the selection was simple. _Th-no._ I glanced down at the prices, gauging how many I could even buy. They were a touch cheaper in Johto, but it wasn't a big difference.

I looked through the whole selection, making sure to glance at the price of every one on the first pass. Iron Tail, Flamethrower, Shock Wave, there was even the terrifying Ice Beam, just sitting there tantalizingly.

I grimaced and looked back at the 'dex for which ones would be most useful. _Looks like there's only room for two, I guess._ "Sir?"

"Ah, y-yeah? What is it?" I stood up nervously, blinking and letting my shoulders drop as the employee looked just as nervous, leaving us both awkwardly chuckling. "So, what were you gonna say?" _So damned cringy_ …

"Oh! Right, ah well we have some single use tm's on sale, if you wanted," He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away, "I'm a trainer too, and I've seen that look quite a few times on most people's faces, so, I just figured maybe, maybe you'd wanna know, y'feel me?"

"Oh! W-I mean, please! Ahem, please, show me the tm's on sale, that would be perfect." He beckoned over and ducked beneath the counter, pulling out a large box of what must've been a hundred neatly stacked tm's just tucked away. "Please, take a look. To tell you the truth, we usually have trouble selling most of these actually, they're a lot of the less desired tm's, but they all still work fine."

 _Less desired?_ I made sure not to grimace at whatever 'undesirable' tm's were in the- _Jackpo~t!_ "And these _are_ all for sale, right? How much do they cost?"

"Ah, they cost half of whatever they would if they were multi-use." I blinked at him, eyes wide. "Sorry if that's too much, I don't make the-"

"No no no no no nono, I, that was less than I expected honestly. Thank you. Can I get these two, and, this one back here?" It was difficult, but I held back the ear-to-ear grin that would disturb most anyone. _It's showtime._

The journey was filled with cheers and rejoicing upon leaving Celadon; they didn't have to walk this time. _Just you guys wait…_ As I began walking, I used the tm attachment again, setting up another training session when we would stop for the day.

What good were new moves if they never got used?

 _ **Hmph. Making him a grappler is a hard transition, be sure to ease him into it.**_ _Relax, he's already started in his tournament fight a few days ago._ _ **Your job is to make him**_ **good** _**at it.**_ _Nghh… it'll be fine._

The walk back through Saffron was familiar, mind-numbingly monotonous and the perfect time to check the 'dex for what moves they could learn next.

And hopefully what it would know once I caught one.

I could only just contain my excitement at the thought, even _without_ mentioning the name basic ideas flitted through my mind at the very mention, before forcefully shoving my mind back to techniques and strategies with the tm's that I just spent all the savings on.

 _Actually, huh._ _Can Yanma learn that too?_ A quick few button presses revealed that yes, Yanma could _also_ learn Iron Tail. _Interesting._ That made… nine moves for the bug type in question. _So frail though… time for more status options._

 _Skorupi, Skorupi, heh, ahhhh… look that one up, haaaaaaaaaaah… this takes so much wooooork…_ _ **Did you expect being a 'ground master' would be easy? Less than half of your team is ground type and you think it's hard**_ **now?** _Just 'cause it's hard doesn't mean I'm quitting, bastard. It means I have to find a way around it._ _ **Don't skip things and just work on techniques brat.**_ _Are you the one training a team Split? Do you know what they've gone through for me? Do you?_

I hissed and shut him out, skimming through any interesting moves that popped out for techniques, none striking for a moment. I checked what moves were exclusive to the younger forms of the team, none popping out to me for the current party, nor for any of the planned team members unfortunately, though techniques began popping up based on the small demonstrations of moves in the 'dex.

By the end of the day, a few basic ideas had surfaced for the next three team members, moves the team would be working on next, and _hopefully_ figure out how to fix Pyralis' major weakness to trickery, since that oughta be easier than addressing dozens of minor flaws all at once for other team members.

Oh, there was Saffron in the distance, that too. The city was full of a constant hustle and bustle, and judging by the noise, that didn't change a bit even as night approached.

The lights all around were enough to make it seem like dawn instead of a cloudy night, my eyes almost blinded by the change. People rushing every which way, not quite pushing and shoving but not even glancing up if they bumped, things were so _frustrating_ here. No one could see the short kid, so it was a struggle to even reach the Pokemon Center at _nine at night._ _Ridiculous…_

The Center's rooms were blissfully free of noise, though my mind was, unfortunately, not so quiet. Random ideas kept popping up like Magikarp on a fishing trip, fun at first, then tedious, and finally just unwanted.

A quiet chorus erupted moments later, a tired question on my lips before they could make any noise. "You guys wanna sleep in here or in the Pokeball? Hmm, Arro, either you sleep on my head or in the ball, no tank here." My mind buzzed with a reminder that rolling those R's I sounded like someone else, but I was too tired to think of who it was.

No one said anything, so I just kinda assumed that they'd be fine for the night, flopping onto the bed and dropping off to sleep.

 _Haaah… warm._ I blinked my eyes open, a touch groggy but plenty awake at the sunlight streaming onto me from the window. I rolled back over, still sleepy…

Only to roll face to face with Pyralis, a comforting heat radiating from him. "Hey Pyre, how ya doin'?" He just opened his eyes and blinked, a faint rumbling echoing from his chest. "I'm not that funny y'know, bedhead is a real thing." It did nothing to quell his laughter, a small smile at the memory of the Professor saying the same thing when I was little. Then we'd go to school with-

I twitched and my eyes blew wide, the smile disappearing like a paper burnt to a crisp. Pyralis glanced over and I rolled back to get up. Nothing good ever came of sifting through memories. I had to wobble and almost fell on my face avoiding Skorupi, lying hidden under the edge of the bed where I'd normally stand up at. _Crazies…_ Arro was nowhere to be found, though Sting was hanging upside down from his perch again. I checked the Pokeballs and found Arro's was full, no worries for the moment.

The stairs were loud, the creaking of every other step just beginning to get annoying as I reached the bottom, the strong scent of coffee filling the kitchen. _What the heck,_ I grabbed a cup for myself from the pot, adding a spoon of sugar for good measure. I blew on the drink, watching the steam rise to the ceiling and feeling the heat on my face. _Blegh,_ I scrunched up my face, my toes curling at the black drink's bitterness, the edge sharper than a Metal Claw.

I glared at the cup, squeezing my eyes shut and downing the whole thing in four big gulps.

I shivered at the uncomfortable heat, relaxing as it hit my stomach and the warmth spread out to envelop me, an unfamiliar yet welcome sensation. Anything was fine at the moment.

 _And now, we have more info of the Vermillion Disaster, with Kittan. Hmm, thanks Balinbow. We've heard that most of the passengers didn't make it, a couple washed up on the shores of either Fuschia or Seafoam, but other than that it's not real certain that anyone else would've been able to last this long, and they're calling the rescue teams in. I ain't happy with it either, but that's how it is. We're all hurtin,' and I wish they'd just find the cowards that did this, but nothin' so far._ He sighed, a deep rasping that brought the old man to mind, _We'll see you guys tonight with more, see ya Kanto._

I walked back up to the room, noisy stairs and hunger alike forgotten. Skorupi was twitching in his sleep, Pyralis was still laying on the bed, no doubt leaving it warm and cozy. Sting was motionless aside from drawing breaths, and Arro n' Yanma were both still in the Pokeballs.

It was a damned long morning.

"Earth Power into Lava Plume, as quickly as you can. You don't have any real defenses, and knowing you, putting time into that would be a waste. So, instead of blocking or tanking their attacks, just make yours blow right through theirs." His grin grew thoughtful, a new light in them. Turning to the next monster-in-the-making,

"YOU! Get over here, you monster!" I blinked at the voice, trying to recall who would know me and yet so blatantly shout their hate of me. A bright pink dress and it all clicked. I threw back my head and let a deep cackle echo like a monster in a bad school play, a bloodthirsty grin on my face as I babbled inanely, one eye shadowed under my hair as I leered at her. "Well heya gir~ly, I remember you, how _are_ your psychic types dearie, do they just like dark energy, or perhaps you enjoy watching them suffer?"

 _Now I see why Gary did this…_ Her face became a bright tomato, Kadabra popped out of its Pokeball with a blue light shining around it. "Well well, if it isn't the _beast_ I met in Cerulean. I suppose it's high time to purge such a stain don't you think Kadabra? Time for _everyone_ to get going!" The other four Pokeballs popped open in the same manner, revealing an Exeggutor, a Hypno, the Slowpoke and Jynx. _Pfft._

"Hope you're ready girly, just 'cause ye've got some evolutions doesn't mean anything."

A flash of light and Pyralis was standing before them, a lone flame in the face of a storm. I laughed and cut it off abruptly, a dead stare aimed straight for her. "Earth Power into Meteor shower. Lava Plume for increased shrapnel."

The ground type snuffed his approval, pawing the ground as he used Earth Power for a blast and quickly dug his feet in before the energy was gone, locking him in place. The enemy scrambled, forming ranks as Exeggutor stepped up to tank the hit, the bright light distorting the vision of anything behind it.

Then the meteor went up, up, and up…

The enemy team focused their power, a painfully bright blue glow suffusing Jynx's entire form, her eyes locked onto the fire type meters away, closing her eyes as Pyralis growled and released control, exploding into a Lava Plume before being surrounded by a blue outline, motionless.

Then the meteor hit, the girl screeching as she ducked, the rest of her team lying on the ground exhausted. Jynx wasn't so lucky. A few shards of burning shrapnel struck her in the chest, the ice type freezing in place before falling to the ground, coughing and clutching the wounds.

I walked up to the girl as she shivered, grabbing the singed sleeves of her dress and tearing up at the sight. I gave a slight smile, a soft expression on my face as I bent down and whispered in her ear, "That was just one team member. Know where another is?" She frantically shook her head and curled in as my smile grew. "Look up."

Sting's fangs stuck out in his gleeful hiss, drawing an ear splitting screech from the thoroughly terrified little jackass. I stood up and dropped the grin, recalling Pyralis and gesturing for Sting to follow in case someone was faking. _**Laying it on a little thick there, brat. I haven't even shown you that accent yet.**_ _Oh come on, don't tell me that wasn't fun. She got swept, five on one. That's funny as hell and you know it._ _ **Just tone down the bloodlust, you could really hurt someone with that strategy.**_ I snorted, barely choking down a laugh. _Sure,_ totally _my problem here. We need more power to fight tougher opponents, if she's too weak that's her own damn fault._

"Testa? Is it really you?"

I frowned at the coincidence of meeting _two_ people who knew me within a few minutes, turning around to see what they wanted. "Huh? Gary? What are you doing here?" I watched his face fill with relief at my confusion, that nagging feeling of forgetting something suddenly popping as I kept my face very still.

"Hoh, man, I'm so glad you're fine after that scream, the St. Anne was terrible, but, do you know if Leaf is-"

The mask was in place, my tone very carefully flat. "About that, _Gary._ Remind me what happened with you three trying to escape? I heard that she washed up on the beach, her Staryu barely alive by the time they got there. Care to tell me why you _left her there?_ "

He froze, a laugh forcing its way out as he waved his hands and glanced to each side. "H-hey man, it's not like that, we were all running for our lives and we were about to get caught if we st-"

"Remind me Gary, don't you and Ash each have a Pidgeotto? Couldn't you have just handed her a simple Pokeball, maybe even asked Ash to do the same? You could have done many things Gary, and yet…and yet you did _nothing_."

"Oi! We were about to get _killed_ there Testa, do you even know-" He stopped, my eyes flashing as his mouth curved into a horrified O, "Wait, wait, Testa, don't do anything crazy man I didn't mean it, I know what you've-"

"You think you know about it huh?"

He paled like a poor fish drained by a Gorebyss.

 _ **Brat, calm it down.**_ _Hehe… hehehehehe… Whatever could you_ mean _Testa? Of course I know what it's like to almost die, I was on a boat!_ _**Brat. Seriously, calm your shit down.**_ _Split,_ I smiled sweetly with far too many teeth at Gary with blank eyes, _remind me when you got created and why._ _**You know full well-**_ _I said,_ _humor me._ The cracked foundation of my mind began swirling like a blender, the familiar madness creeping up as Split began to break down.

Shivers ran up and down my arms, chest, legs, it coursed through every inch. A wonderfully alien tingling echoed in every limb, a broken whole now shoved together like a poorly made science fair project, the parts not matching the generic plans.

"Heheheeeeeee ahhh, it feels _great_ don'tcha know Gary? I feel like shit's just gone _wild_ up in 'ere ayy? I oughta thank ya for this, it's been so _long_ and I feel like everything can just go ahead and melt away like that little Pichu yeah? Sounds like old times, hehehehe." The perpetual lopsided grin that so _blissfully_ hurt my face to hold was just the start of the fun time, soon we'd get to have some fun with Gary's team too!

"Yeah, that's right! You should bring out your team Gary, I promise that I'll only share a _little_ fun, they'll still be in one piece by the time I'm done. Your Growlithe probably won't even call it quits since I don't have the acid, and he can't _re~ally_ be burned, but sharing this fun with him _and_ testing his fire resistance should be a blast huh? That's it! We can test his explosive resistance, just have him-"

"Testa, please, don't do this. We didn't mean for this to happen, no one had any idea that this could've happened, so please, just come back as _Testa_ , my weird nerdy friend with a terrifying eye for combinations. _Please_." He was begging, hands clasped together and all, truly a sight.

I bent over and guffawed hysterically, memories flooding my mind with tear tracks streaming down my face. "Gary, I swear on your fuckin' old man, if you don't get out of my sight in the next ten seconds you're going to have several burned pokemon, and I'm going to _make you fucking watch_. Now get out." Things were flashing through my mind as I curled up and closed my eyes, grounding myself with the thought of it being over in just ten quick seconds.

Of course, it was never that easy, but it was nice to think that it'd all be fine, even for just a moment.

 **A/N**

 **Cool,**

 **so,**

 **Y'know those issues I mentioned he'll need to get over? Yeah, there are some things coming up both in the mental dept,** _ **and**_ **in the general 'person that will fuck you over' kind of obstacles. I'm probably just going to double upload this stuff after going through it, so, I mean, enjoy. I might be gone for a bit longer than a month this time, but I'll be back. Just a touch burnt out after making** _ **two**_ **chapters in the time I normally make one and a quarter-ish.**

 **Hopefully this turned out decent lol,**

 **later.**


	9. Chapter 9

Everything was just _fine_ , what _ever_ could be meant by the echoed 'calm down?' _Ahhhh, whatever._ It was time for some action! I ran for what felt like six hours, a smile on my face at the intense burning in my lungs and legs.

It felt so great to be _alive_ , pain was the point of existence, it was all so clear! One could never get through life without going through pain, and dealing with pain made the next pain hurt less, so the more pain you went through, the less pain you had to go through! Therefore, the more pain you went through, the better you would feel! _Foolproof._

I tripped, fallin' flat on my face. _Wonderful…_ A hazy smile filled my face, the wonderful sensation of tingling all over with a dizzy head leading me to pass out. _Hehehehehehehehe…_ Though not before a giggling filled the forested area.

 _The shit happened? Split, you know?_ I waited a moment, and when not even a hint of an expression or emotion flashed through my mind, I worried for a moment. _Split? You there man?_ Nothing.

I pursed my lips, _But is this good, or bad? I mean… nope, not dealing with this._ "Alright guys, c'mon out," I stood up and groaned like an old man and holy _shit_ what happened.

"Er, you guys oughta work on the tm's for now, I'll be there in a little bit to see how it's going, kay? Just gimme a sec." I had to use the tree next to me as a crutch, walking between the dense forest for support and feeling like my legs were dipped in acid, it reminded me of the time when we'd run around too much as kids and whe- _fuck off, memories. Wait, shit I need Split back ASAP. You there yet man?_ It was only wishful thinking at this point, but it was still a _damned_ nice thought that he would be back.

 _What_ was _I doing before I got here anyway…?_ I let the thought fade into the background and simmer for a while, like an annoying experiment that took a long time to react. _Experiment, why does that ring a-fuck, really?_ I let out a sharp exhale, dropping to the ground, curling up and hiding my head for a bit. _But who was there? Gahhh, can't even fuckin' sort through the past day without the rest, damn. Not worth. Whoever it was better get over it._ The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, a curiosity unsatisfied would bug me for a while.

'Least it wasn't memory diving. Now _that_ would leave a bitter taste.

I looked up, feeling as if there were already bags under my eyes with all of the shit to do. I sighed, too used to Split's commentary whenever I said something like that. _Alri~ght, time to get it going._ I wandered around, just listening to the team's attacks for a few minutes as I looked for Sting, who was just lazing about in a tree above the rest. "Hey there Sting, how's the _training_ going?" He scrambled at my voice, falling down and ending up flat on his face. I just stared dryly, the tree a perfect place to lean upon.

He hurried to join the team in practicing the new moves he had, one at a time. "Sting, c'mere, I wanna tell you something." He tensed, glancing at the rest of the team practicing and crept over warily. "Relax, it's a new technique, now do you want the good news first or the bad news?"

Sting drew two tally marks on the ground, apprehension covering his whole posture. "Okay, bad news is twofold. You have to teach yourself Iron head, and teach that to Pyralis." He drooped for a moment, sighing at my request. "The other bad part is that you'll be really weak to fire and, well, ice'll be a bit better if that's all they use." He tilted his head, hesitantly lifting up a claw and putting it back down, a question on his face. "I'll get to that, now the good news: you'll be at _least_ thrice as powerful defensively, excluding temperature based attacks, and electricity won't throw you back at all if you're touching the ground. Excited yet?" I gave a tired grin, a light flaring in my eyes as Sting's curiosity grew to a fever pitch. "It's called Iron Body…"

The rest of the team had been listening in by the end of the excited explanation, Skorupi in particular looking on with jealousy. "Hey Skorupi, I've got an idea for you too man. Get over here, Sting, you go practice." The two swapped places, one full of enthusiasm an the other stalking over, all six legs pointedly stomping on the way over. "Don't be like that Skorupi, this one is going to let you destroy Sting if he tries to use Iron Body against you, and with your tail, you can do something even _better_ with Iron Tail."

I explained what he'd be working on, the poison type growing excited by the prospects to follow and the sheer amount of _coverage_ just a few moves would give. "If you've got questions, I'm sure Yanma can help you with the ice part, just get those two and hopefully the third won't be as hard. After that we can just add in a Crunch on top of those whenever you go in, sound good?" Skorupi was practically salivating at this point, eager to learn all he could. "Hmm, and Skorupi? You'll need to spar with Sting to get good at it, but Iron Tail will be your greatest tool for this strategy. Just, just be _damned_ careful if you go up against an opponent like Pyralis, alright?" He gave a hiss of laughter, darting back to his spot and working harder than ever now that real _power_ was within reach.

 _Heh, easy._ I pulled the other three side separately, Pyralis looking as if Christmas had come early and Arro _finally_ getting a technique, another to follow once she learned just two more moves. Yanma was still a bit of an enigma, but there were a few simple moves that would help quite a bit for the flying type. She'd be plenty busy for a while, learning eight moves in such a short time frame.

Before we knew it, the day was over. The team was all exhausted, a fresh bout of excitement filling their veins with a thirst for _more_ tomorrow. I chuckled as Pyralis tried to keep going, returning the stubborn Numel before he hurt himself.

Plenty of things to work on, plenty of thoughts to ignore 'till Split was back.

As we arrived in Lavender, I sucked in a deep breath and hoped the lunch foods were all eaten up, that meant they'd make _dinner_. I licked my lips at the thought, the memories of tantalizing smells making me relax for the last mile or so, old memories flickering in and out. The dinner table, mom's apron and having it drag on the floor behind me, her bright smile, her bloody head-

I shivered and my eyes shot open, suddenly losing my appetite as the memories just wouldn't _stop_ already. _Split? Split! Get your lazy ass back here already! I… hurry back._ It was lonely, walking without any voices to keep my mind off things. It really was too bad that we couldn't go on the journey as a…quartet… _Fuck, it_ was _Gary. Damn it, I wish he would forgive as easily as Ash._ The memories slid through the mountain of childhood crap, the freakout playing through like a scratched record, everything distorted around the point where it began.

 _Nope, nope,_ NOPE. _Golett to catch, no more remembering shit._ I sighed as I wrote down a note to meet Archer… somewhere, in the next two days. _I'll burn that bridge-wait, no, I'll cross-fuck it, no more thinking._ It was action time.

I asked around for what Pokemon would be where, a few trainers mentioning that Gastly and Litwick were the only ones in the tower. I frowned, figuring that most of the ghosts would be in there. I glanced back at the map, deciding the cave would be my best bet.

It was too dark to be able to see much of anything, but Sting's ears were a _godsend_ in navigating, knowing when to duck the hundreds of Zubat spooked by my footsteps and knowing which direction the Onix were tunneling. Sting kept poking my leg, a quiet hissing a constant by now.

When Sting tensed and shivered, I just grinned and forged straight on. The chills ran up and down my spine, my breath steaming in front of my mouth before long.

A deep bass rumbling echoed through the cavern, Sting jabbing my leg much harder than before, the hissing getting louder.

I grinned and tossed up Pyralis' Pokeball, the fire type sighing as he flared up, dispelling any sense of cold despite Sting's continued protests.

The rumbling grew louder and louder, only punctuated by the Gligar's continuous jabs.

"Flame Burst, we need to know what we're up against." He happily obliged, a blinding flare lighting up the darkness and leading Sting to hiss louder than usual, all I could make out were shadowy figures, but judging by their size alone, it was plenty. "Earth Power!" I whipped out Arro's Pokeball as a backup, having multiple enemies might not have been a new thing, but that didn't mean nothing would go wrong.

Especially with a few Golurk leading this group.

" _Why would you want to have a_ Golurk _of all Pokemon? You could have any other ghost type, they'd be faster, better at what ghosts_ do _, all that most of them_ have _is trickery, and they have so many weaknesses that the defensive capabilities of Golurk aren't too great either."_

" _Have you ever_ seen _a Golurk in action though? Do you know what they're capable of off the top of your head?"_

 _Fuck, why_ now? _Shit I c-_ "Skorupi! Show 'em what it means to be _Paranoid,_ Pyralis, do what you do best. Sting, make sure none of 'em sneak up on us. I-" I coughed, the sudden yelling in the cold air screwing over my throat. _Damn!_

I searched through the group of ghost types, knowing full well that a while a Golurk would be nice, the whole team would have to be on guard in case _anything_ went wrong, and by the time ghost types evolved, they were notoriously near _impossible_ to train, so a Golett it was.

One the Golett though, he was standing in the back. I grinned as Skorupi crept up behind the ghost, taking it out before a sound could even be made and moving on to the next.

The chaotic mess was made worse with a headache I'd only felt twice before, knowing full well what it signaled, and before I'd be hating every second.

Now though? _Split! You're back!_ _ **B...c...wn!**_ _Heh, glad to have ya back. For once. Could you have any worse timing though?_

A hint of an irritated grumble reached me, nothing loud enough to hear, but the fact that he was back was like a favorite blanket handed back to a sleepy kid.

Another flare lit up the cave walls that I was facing, a rumbling chorus of deep, grinding waves causing the entire cavern to shake as I paled. "Pyralis, might wanna lay off the ground type attacks, I think we want to _avoid_ getting buried alive."

A shriek was cut off, blasting my ear drums, the _thud_ against the wall only leading dread to pool in my stomach. "Fuck, Sting, point me in the right direction, I need to aim the beam at Skorupi." Sting hopped up, tugging my leg toward one way as I took shots in the dark until the ball got a touch heavier, the faded red light not even fazing my eyes after Pyralis' attacks.

I ran through what was next, Pyralis' attacks only able to do so much when they weren't huddled together for protection from Skorupi's dark attacks. _Damn, Sting doesn't know Night Slash, and none of the tm's are sup-_ I sighed and very carefully refrained from smacking my head. "Sting, Hidden Power. Priority one is to avoid any hits, two is forcing them to clump together."

I waited for any openings, the two working together against the horde that just didn't _end_ , these things were such a pain to deal with.

I shook off any irritation and heard one rumble off to my left, springing back and shakily grabbing Arro's Pokeball, dropping it in a small panic.

The flash blinded me, but I heard a sharp rumble cut off by a sloshing attack, one large enough to leave my wet toes curling from the cold alone.

Fumbling with my belt, I grabbed an empty Pokeball and tried to blink away the last few spots, aiming at the Golett.

Somehow, I hit the ghost type on the first try, and just as the ball clicked I saw another flare from Pyralis, followed by a screeching. _Fuck not like this._ "Arro, guard Pyralis for a sec, don't get hit." I reached into the sweatshirt pocket and gripped Sting's Pokeball, a snarl coating my features at them _both_ being taken down so quickly. _How are they getting hit so hard?_

"Flame Burst, light 'em up for a bit!" I closed my eyes for the first second, tentatively opening them and frantically searching for Sting.

His prone form was against a wall, slumped down and unconscious. I recalled him, doing the same for Arro. "Alright, Yanma, you're up. I need you to guide me out, alright? Grab hold of my shirt or something and lead me along, this one's gonna be close."

I recalled Pyralis, and all hell broke loose.

Nearly tripping on the first step, I moved to taking lighter steps, like climbing a bunch of rocks. _**Guess being short**_ **is** _**good for something.**_ _I appreciate the commentary, really, but now is_ really _not the fucking time!_ _**Why, what's happening?**_ _I may have pissed off a horde of three Golurk and several Golett._ _ **We'll talk about this later. Don't die.**_

Yanma was the only thing keeping me from falling and getting caught by the pursuers, whatever that may entail, I sure wasn't eager to stick around and find out.

That was a little difficult with all the twists and turns that it felt like they could just _phase through_.

I saw a light after rounding a particularly tight corner, sprinting towards it in a second wind, the rumbling getting farther away as I crossed the threshold, my hands on my knees as I caught my breath.

I turned back and almost _screamed_ , hy heart leaping into my throat at the indistinct hands reaching out at me, becoming less and less distinct the more like shone upon them. I paled as I looked up and saw clouds were about to cover the sun, scrambling back.

I _just_ escaped the hands, their blurry forms becoming slightly more solid in the shade, but not enough to reach out almost ten feet, leading me to sit down and heave a quiet sigh.

A blur of black, a flash of green, and a few blurs grabbed me, their hands putting me into an icy shock, dragging me back as all I could do was scream.

"YANMA! HE- _MLOGH_ " I was quickly cut off by one of the less distinct hands muting anything I could say, the cold making me freeze up in a panic, shaking around like a ragdoll. _**P… s!**_

I reached the mouth of the cave, grabbing the edge in a death grip, the only arm that wasn't bound at my side as the less distinct arms came shooting out to pry it off, everything and nothing flitting through my mind, searching for an answer, _any_ answer.

 _ **PYRALIS!**_ **LIGHT** _**YOU BRAT!**_

I froze again, mind clearing of all thoughts but _get that fucking Pokeball NOW,_ letting go and reaching across my chest for the Pokeball, fumbling and groaning at my chin _clunk_ ed on the ground, jarring me.

Before the flash of white could finish, I was already _screaming_ through the muffle, trying to give _any_ indication that _shit went wrong_ here.

I heard a deep inhale, a _whoosh_ , and a torrent of flames lit up the darkness, leaving my legs to flop down as my hands could _finally_ quit scrabbling at the ground like my life depended on it.

Which it probably did.

I shakily stood up, the jitters of adrenaline still going strong as I thanked Pyralis, not even registering that he didn't know that move until now, not caring. "We should get back to the center, you guys took a lot of damage in there. Walk with me, Pyralis?" I curled up slightly, waiting for a derisive snort or for him to simply ignore me and lay down.

When I glanced back, he was staring into the darkness, nostrils still flaring with cinders every breath, giving me a glance and a nod.

 _Golett,_ _the Automaton Pokemon._

 _Gollet are genderless Pokemon, this specimen has the ability Iron Fist and knows the following moves:_

 _Drain Punch, Shadow Punch, Rollout, Mega Punch, and Magnitude._

 _Drain Punch is nice, y'know? Not many people will expect that one at least, and with his defenses, he'll actually be quite the bruiser._ _ **True.**_ The Pokemon Center room was just as casual as always with it's barren walls, a simple mirror in the bathroom. My eyes roamed around for something to latch onto, _any_ - _Hey Split?_ An inkling of a raised eyebrow, _Remind me why this is a thing that no one talks about._ _**The robotic decision making that leads to sociopathic tendencies or the part where everyone's cheery about it.**_ _The part where almost dying is brushed off. Repeatedly. By the_ doctor _of all people._

 _ **The world is a cruel place, and, to quote your own words: 'if she's too weak that's her own damn fault.' That's how the world sees you. The only difference is that some mask it.**_

I hummed a familiar tune, the perfect little green tunic-wearing hero the image I needed for a bit.

The scene was set; Pyralis and Golett squaring off on hard packed dirt, just as the battle begun, a cloud drifted overhead, the ghost type's form being obscured for a half a second as hands grabbed and gripped, tightening around my throat until-

I blearily blinked my eyes open, a slight twitching spasm repeating on my eyebrow.

 _1:27 AM_

I rolled over, recalling what made me wake up from the-A shiver ran up my spine, shifting the blanket and making the warmest spot go too far to one side, a balance that would never again be reached.

Not until tom-tonight, anyway. _It's still night, but does that mean I'm talking about the night currently happening today, or the night that begins today?_

I wasn't sure.

The thoughts kept coming though.

I flopped back onto the bed, the creaks echoing out as Skorupi stirred from beneath the bed, a small _scritch_ on the floor, the sound fading out after a second that lasted far too long. It was quiet, no little Pidgey or the occasional Pidove chirping at the light.

It was far too quiet. And the thoughts wouldn't stop.

 _ **Good god just get**_ **up** _**before you keep torturing both of us, stupid bast'rd.**_

I glared at the wall, dragging my eyes open in a blank stare. _If you're telling me to get up, I'm dragging your ass with me. Quit mumbling while you tell me to wake up, and shut it._ I huffed, rolling back onto my side and closing my eyes.

 _ **Brat, these thoughts arn't goin' away, getch-yer ass up alr'dy.**_

I glared at nothing, the soft pillow wrapping around my face comfortingly as I tried to ignore him. _**I swear to fuckin'…**_

 _ **GET UP!**_ _Ignore it, ignore it, nothing is there…_

 _ **NOW!**_ _Fuck you. I'm taking you with me, stupid bastard._ I sat up and looked around for my sweatshirts, just now realizing I'd slept in one. I reached into the left pocket and found Arro's Pokeball, the thought of having her around a small comfort at _one in the damn morning_.

The chilly air outside was a touch too strong, the hot drink in my hands leaving my face with a near-boiling heat compared to everything else. The dark had me stumbling along, only focused on keeping my footing and the drink from spilling.

A hiss echoed, the sound of leather beating the air tipping me off. Too bad it couldn't be blinded by the flash of light, but whatever. "Arro, Scald." The water attack slammed into the Zubat as it dived forward, the air left warm for me to enjoy before it faded. I looked down, and the ground wasn't even wet. "That's a lot of heat Arro, good job. I've been planning something for a while, but now that you can get the water to boiling, I think we should try the opposite. If you can get Ice Beam working, you'll be a monstrous offensive threat, and anything that doesn't bend at the first Scald can easily be worn down by Ice Beam, and Hidden Power for other water types. It's your choice whether you wanna work on Ice Beam or Hydro Pump first, and I'll let you take this one at your own pace. You, I'm sorry Arro." A grimace flashed, moving to sit down as Arro looked quizzically.

"I haven't been able to make you strong, and I can tell you now that I don't know what to do with your strategy. Running away and sniping the enemies sounds fine, and you've been doing amazingly, but against both Skorupi and Pyralis, both of which should be ideal opponents, it just isn't cutting it, and making you into a bruiser like Sting and Skorupi doesn't seem right with how few physical attacks you get." I frowned, looking away from the water type.

"I don't know how to give you strength, and the only feasible moves you can really learn until you evolve are more ranged attacks. I'm failing y-" A sharp chirp made me jump, tensing far too late to do anything as a wave of nausea hit, hand gripping the wood as the water type went on what looked like an angry rant, pacing back and forth, chirping all the while.

I just stared on for a moment, nothing coming to me as I watched a little Shellos chew me out for something. "Ah, I'm worse than I thought." Arro's head snapped over, an intense gaze on her face. "I can't even get the gist of what you're saying, and you're right, I am the wor-AH!" I screeched in surprise, falling backwards off the log as a jet of water hit me in the face.

I choked, sputtering for a second as I pushed sopping wet red strands out of my face, a pair of puffed out cheeks sitting in front of me, her glare _daring_ me to finish the sentence. "Aahhh, I guess you don't want me to keep complaining, huh?" I sighed, a playful note creeping into my tone as the simple chill of water drying made me feel free, not trapped.

A far too wide grin crept onto my face, a content laugh bubbling up. _It's the proof you see,_ _ **the proof that we're alive…**_ _**He**_ _he_ _ **he**_ _he_ _ **he**_ _h_ _ **e**_ …

"Alright kid, not a bad battle. I see you're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for, congratulations." Archer's wolfish grin was back, the sharp teeth sticking out in my mind.

 _ **He's goddamned deadly you brat, don't**_ - _You can fuck off making me weaker, I_ need _to get stronger, if there's a little cost later on, so be it._

It couldn't be _that_ bad, his Ekans and Houndour were weak. Weak enough that Arro pulled off a flawless sweep. "So I'm in?" A quick nod. "So, what now? Do I meet the boss? Battle him as a placement test maybe?"

A barking laugh echoed for a moment, the grin only getting sharper. "You're smart. I'll lead you to the boss later on, for now I thought I'd see if you were ready for us and give you some pointers. You've exceeded expectations, I won't make the same mistake." The grin shrunk and gained a smug edge, his eyes losing their predatory focus for the moment, "The boss will see to it personally that you get good training. He also uses ground types, and he's on par with any of the gym leaders in the region. He also mentioned that he'd be willing to give a ground type of your choice if you performed well enough."

My eyes widened, the possibilities opening up like the gate to Giratina himself. _**Bra**_ _-No, no no no no_ **n** o _._ _This is the shit we've needed. Do you know how many team members I had to scrap plans for due to rarity?_ _**This won't end w**_ _-SSSSHHHHHhhhhh… Listen. Here that?_ Faint rumbling echoed within my mind. _It's the weight of all the plans stored away. A free Garchomp you say? Yes please. A_ free _tutor?_

 _Who's both STRONGER than Giovanni_ and _uses ground types? I wouldn't drop this shit for another round of being saved by what's-her-face. You can fuck the hell_ off _on this one._

 _ **Fine, enjoy dying when the cost fucking shows up, go ahead and beg for some damned help when shit really hits the fan. You'll need to make the worst choice of your**_ **life,** _**ungrateful fucking BRAT!**_

Thank fuckin' _Mew_ that I had perfected hiding turmoil behind the mask. _You act like I ever needed your ass._ There wasn't a response, but there was sure as _hell_ a simmering pot of rage in the back corner.

Serves the bastard right, this was a once in a lifetime chance.

"My my, you seem troubled. I suppose you're wondering what will happen in the meantime?" His grin thinned without softening, the eyes lighting up with a dark glee. "Let me watch one of your training sessions and I'll give some pointers. I'll talk with the boss and see if he has any better ideas and get back to you, we'll make sure you become the strongest around."

I stared at him impassively, eyes unfocused and thoughts whirling after the argument. "This sounds acceptable, when works for you?"

A flash of _something_ flickered over his face, gone the next instant. "Now works just fine, if that is suitable, your Shellos wasn't even too winded, let alone your whole team, correct?"

"True." My hand traced over the team's capsules, about to let all f- _six_ out at the same time, until I realized how badly that might go with a random Golett not introduced to the team yet. Two flashes, clicking the balls back onto my belt before turning to them. "Pyralis, I'm gonna need you to help introduce Golett and lead into training." He glanced behind me, eyes narrowing as they flickered back and forth. "Yes, he's here to give some tips on training. I'll fill you guys in later, for now we should get a bit of training in and test Golett a bit." Another frown, "No, if _you_ went against him he'd be gone in one hit. We need to _test_ him." I finished wryly.

I sobered up quick, turning to the flying type. "Sting, I'll need you to keep Skorupi from holding a grudge and attacking right off the bat, got it? I'll have you test out Golett's limits, but I need you to stay calm and help first."

Sting straightened up and nodded, standing resolutely with his arms crossed. I almost snorted at the image of how short he was, but shook my head and released the other four.

Skorupi glanced around, doing a small double take at Archer, then locked onto Golett and froze, coiled like a spring. He burst into Agility, form hunched as-

Sting locked claws with the bug type, Onslaught in full effect as Skorupi tried to rush around him, blocked at every turn. "Skorupi, calm down, he's a teammate." The poison type glanced over incredulously, dashing to my feet and chittering a mile a minute.

The wry smile was back, "You act like there can never be a team member that you don't like. You won't even have to get along, a rivalry like with Sting is fine by me, the goal is to get each of you stronger. Then whichever combination is most effective is what I'll use, and you guys can keep growing even stronger."

He just glared up, claws clacking as they clenched and unclenched. Too bad the little angry bug couldn't scare for shit.

"Get over it, you can just ignore him if you want. With what I have planned for Golett, you shouldn't need to help him with anything." He huffed and turned around, leading to a snort at how much he thought I cared.

"I'm not too sure whether even the boss will know what to do with a Golett, so how about we make a deal, hmm? We could test him against my team, the one your Shellos just fought, and then we'll check back in about two months to see his progress and what any future plans may cover as a test for your skills in training as well as adapting to a nearly unheard of Pokemon's style."

I lent an ear to Archer's words as I waved Pyralis away to go do more training on condensing his flames and Arro to work on Earth Power for the time being, the idea bringing a smile to bear. "So you want to set up the training regimen for the main team while I train Golett personally, and you then compare notes on what's happened? Sounds like a good idea to me, but…" It finally dawned on me, my face lighting up with understanding as I smiled at him. "Hmm. I see. This is actually for _me_ to see the difference isn't it?"

Our grins grew as his eyes flashed again, the glee coming back for a split second.

"Deal."

Route 12, a place of fishermen fishing and couples sitting on the side of the road, mumbling in each other's ears and giggling.

What a fun place. What could _possibly_ be better than walking by dozens of people trying to kiss each other and being _that guy_ walking by, the one that makes every action they're trying to do awkward. Oh _joy._

At least Arro was having fun.

I saw a cocky grin as his Pokeball bounced up and down in his hand. We smirked at each other, he walked over as I dipped my hand in the water and shook frantically for a second. A flash of red and white respectively, and Arro was sopping wet on the floating docks. The poor guy's expression looked like a Slowpoke's.

I snorted, "Yo, ready for a battle? Arro was just enjoying the water."

He shook his head and dragged his gaze back up, his eyes reigniting with a burning desire, the smirk popping into existence without any further preamble. "Ready when you are, shorty. I hear that redheads have no soul, but I can see it for myself. Real question is, are you?"

I raised an eyebrow, a bubbling laugh staying in my chest. "Well, we're waiting."

His enthusiasm was infectious as hell, even Arro started grinning when he sent out a tiny yellow bug, smaller even than Surge's. "Lead off with a Charge Beam."

I just waited for the beam to hit, Arro shivering for a moment and taking it as the Joltik crackled. "That's cute you know, now let's show 'em a _real_ attack." The grin grew to stretch across my face, as Arro comically huffed and puffed up her chest, all droplets sucked in without a second thought. "Hydro Pump."

3 pairs of eyes went wide as the poor bug tried to hop away.

It was a nice effort, really. The little guy even tried to shock Arro with her own blast, but the only way she even _could_ use Hydro Pump at this point was in bursts.

We'd figured that one out _real_ quick when she flew back faster than Skorupi could follow.

The bug hopped to and fro, three blasts missing him by inches as he nearly slipped off the edge and jumped high to avoid a fourth.

Then the fifth shot smacked him like a hungry Emolga.

He plummeted for a half second before being sucked up by a red beam, a murmured word passing between them before the guy clicked the stasis button. "You're pretty good shorty." He smiled wryly and threw up his hands, "You've taken down my little friend with both a type disadvantage and without getting hit. I'll admit, you're pretty good."

I smiled and walked closer, beckoning him over as I patted Arro and scooped her back into the water, a delighted smile on her face before she went back under. "I might've had something to do with the planning, but she was the one who was great. 'Sides, you shouldn't sell yourself or your Joltik short, we've been training that aim on Pokemon even faster and the little guy still dodged 'em."

He just laughed, a fond smile on his face as he sat down. "You remind me a bit of someone I know, what's your name?"

I brightened up and looked back at him. "I'm Testa, and you?"

He tilted his head and giggled, slowly devolving into full on guffawing. "Ahhhh, wha, what's so funny?" He held up a finger and clutched at his stomach, taking deep breaths before he calmed down.

"It's nothing, you wouldn't get the joke. My name, coincidentally, is Tesla. I'm gonna be an electric type master." His eyes became glazed for a moment, staring far past me.

It was a good thing too, because my lips twitched into a distinctly unfriendly snarl before I calmed down myself. "I'm also planning on becoming a master of a specific type, but, why electric, if you don't mind my asking?"

He shook himself out of his reverie and became increasingly animated, going on about how no one really expected electric types to go far, and that most people would beat Surge with a ground type and forget about them, since he had to go easy on most challengers being so easily accessible early in the journey.

He was full on standing up and posing victoriously before he stopped dead in his tracks and turned bright red, scratching behind his head and mumbling, "That might've been too much, sorry about that little, uh, thing, I can get carried away too easily…"

I snorted, belting out my own laugh as I curled up and tears stream from my eyes as he turned to me with hurt eyes. "You, I thought you were-sorry, Testa, I guess I'd better get ou-" "Wh-wait up! I didn't, I'm sorry man I just," I sighed and grinned apologetically, "I do the same thing in my rants, it was just funny to see it from the other side and how embarrassed you got." His expression had softened and a look of understanding passed between us. I stuck out a hand and raised an eyebrow, getting his in return and shaking on it.

A smile flickered onto my face as I mumbled to him as he sat down again."I've pretty much always wanted to be a ground type master. My old man specialized in electric, and I wanted to beat him. I saw Giovanni fighting Lance, and even though Lance must have been a hundred times stronger, even then I could tell that Giovanni's traps and little tricks were keeping it relatively even for a while, and it was amazing."

"Alright, then whaddya say we be rivals?"

My gaze whipped back faster than a Quick Attack, eyes blown wider than a Stunfisk's. "But why? I, I mean sure, you'd want to be able to learn how to fend off ground types, but, why me?"

He sighed and looked away, a twitch in his lips. "Just 'cause you seem cool enough, and I bet I'll need to know what a ground type trainer at my level will be like."

A hesitant grin split my lips, a sunny smile back on face. _It's been forever since this has happened…_ "Sounds good to me, on one condition." He glanced back, a completely befuddled expression covering his face.

"And what would that condition _be_?"

My grin turned entirely too mischievous for anyone's good. "That would be your admitting that I'm better at strategy." The giddy excitement grew to a fever pitch, "Unless you wanted me to _prove_ that I'm better, that's fine too you know."

"No way, shorty! I'm _way_ better, and you won because you have ground types against electric types! That's the hardest counter you could ever have, immunity _and_ the only weakness."

"Remind me what type Shellos is? Wait, hold on, is it, _woaaaaaah_ , it's _not_ a ground type, Arro is in fact _weak_ to electricity? Woah, almost like it's all in the _strategy_." A pair of thieving grins crossed our faces, the friendly teasing going on as we strolled along.

 **A/N**

 **Whew, I wanted to keep this on going tbh, but this one would go on for a good 'nother 2-3k words, and irl things are takin' a bit of a toll so both the scene and the time to write it would drag on, and I figured whoever made it this far would appreciate whatever drew them to this story lol.**

 **Reminds me, tell me what you enjoy about the story? Reading my own chapters either makes me cringe(** _ **cough CHAPTER ONE cough**_ ) **or just fall into the memories of writing it, so, doesn't help me to see what's good or not. Imma be focusing on the chap 1 rewrite for however long it takes, sorry in advance if that takes more than a month or so.**

 **(Tbh I'm probably just going to write the next chapter or two just to stall on that… whatever works I s'pose, hopefully you guys had a nice Thxgiving/Holiday/?[Just tasty food in general I guess])**

 **(...Also un-edited since I've been busy af and I'm lazy rn)**

 **Later!**


	10. Chapter 10

The bridge was nearly serene, the gentle waves crashing and barely sending a ripple through the long wooden structure, a grass type here and there patching it up.

"Hey, you two! Up for a double battle?"

We paused in nerding out over potential techniques, I turned to face the brown haired, plain looking couple holding hands in front of us. A pivot to the left, a cocked eyebrow and an eager nod between us and the deal was sealed, a battle was on our hands.

The couple smiled and the guy's grin grew predatory as he leered behind his girlfriend, a Pokeball lazily tossed up and down in his hand. "We send all four out on three, got it? One, two, three!"

A Marowak and a Cloyster materialized, the ground type rushing to stand in front of his girlfriend's Pokemon. Glancing to the side, Tesla had sent out his Luxio, Yanma's buzzing a comfort in the background.

"Marowak, Bonemerang!" The bone came sailing towards Luxio from the left.

"Yanma, block it with Iron Tail." The bug type was there in an instant, blocking for Luxio as the electric type flinched and grinned at the water type, firing off a powerful Thunderbolt.

The lightning arced over to the Marowak and its skull filled with metals, as feared. _Joy._ A mirthless smile crossed my face, murmuring a quick word to Tesla that left him to laugh. "You're crazy, and a terrible person, but I like it."

A lopsided smirk crossed his face. "Nid, rush that Cloyster and use Wild Charge once you get within range."

The boyfriend bared his teeth and let a dangerous look into his eyes, "Marowak, block it and Bone Club!"

"Cloyster, shoot down the Yanma!"

"Yanma, Hidden power at its feet and Giga Drain."

The dangerous look flipped into white-faced horror as the ground type was unable to move an inch, the club cracking the ice a moment too late. The Marowak grit its teeth and braced itself on the ground with a hand, collapsing as the Giga Drain hungrily ate away any resistance.

A red beam let the unconscious Pokemon rest, a curiously blank look on the man's face as he drew out a second ball. I squinted and raised an eyebrow at the guy, trying to remember. _Isn't that against double battle rules…?_

A massive Crawdaunt appeared, summoning water to surround itself, shooting straight for Luxio as the Cloyster's cries _finally_ faded out and the ice type was recalled.

He had no chance.

The Crawdaunt burst out of the water, a glowing claw smacking the electric type on the head and slicing through his stomach as an afterthought.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tesla freeze up and scramble for the Pokeball.

Turning back, it was glaring at Yanma, bursting into another pillar of water and soaring into the air. "Hidden Power into Steel Wing to block any cheap shots. Keep either Steel Wing or Iron Tail at all times, and watch out." I snarled at the _bastard_ across from us, the girlfriend grinning as she whipped out her own Pokeball, revealing a Swanna.

The girlfriend smiled and stretched, sighing as she took off the heels and stuffed them into her bag. "Sorry for the disguise kids, but we'll be collecting those juicy little Pokemon for ourselves now. Water Pulse on that Yanma!"

My arm whipped to the Pokeballs on the belt, bringing out Arro, Sting, and Skorupi. "We're under attack by _these_ cowards, they've sliced into the stomach of our new friend's Luxio. Onslaught and Paranoia, Iron Body as best you can if you have to duel, you two are against the Crawdaunt. Arro, you're against the Swanna with Yanma. If you can, make openings for Tesla's team, they're electric and oughta do more damage, at very least to Swanna."

The poison users quickly got to it, stilling for a moment as they boosted and running off, the Crawdaunt not noticing the duo. _Have fun…_ "Arro? What's wrong?" The water type was staring at the Crawdaunt and shaking, rooted to the spot. _Oh for fuck of all the people to run into…_ "Arro, Arro, hey, look at me real quick."

It hurt, it hurt so _damn badly_ to see Arro scared like this, to see her look with those eyes filled with despair and her first memory. "Listen, I get that you're scared, but it's Skorupi and Sting, have those two working _together_ ever failed? I know how strong you are, and that it's hard, but they've got your back. Yanma needs your help against that flying type, so please, just this once and I won't ask for your help like this again okay? Please." I held her close for a moment, the slime on my sweatshirt a small price to pay. "I know you can do it."

She shuddered and looked up, squaring her little legs and chirping up with a brave facade. My eyes softened and I shook my head, smiling bitterly. "Use Hidden Power whenever you get the chance, I'll warn you if something else is coming." She stretched and dipped her leg into the water, puffing her cheeks.

I glanced over to Yanma, frantically dodging the blasts of water and slashes of wind from Swanna, sporting a bent tail and fluttering her wings erratically to duck and weave through the wall of projectiles. I took a deep breath and bellowed to make sure the bug could hear me, they were almost a hundred feet in the air by now. "Fly below it and use Giga Drain for a second! Then fly back this way!" I doubled over and coughed, my throat burning.

I looked around for Tesla, the electric user nowhere to be found. _Be very, very,_ _calm, Testa. His Luxio was nearly killed, it is time to be reasonable._ It didn't help the curled fists and the glazed look in my eyes, but it kept me from trying to kill the traine-A flash of shadow in the corner of my eye was my only warning as I leaped back, shivering as shadowy hands seemed to ghost over me.

The Nuzleaf scowled, shaking his hands to reveal a prepped up Razor Leaf.

I reached for my belt, gritting my teeth as the leaves bit into my arms and left a deep gash in my leg, the leaf still embedded within it. A second volley came hurtling toward me as I threw the ball in between, the recoil of letting him out bringing it back for a close catch.

Pyralis grunted at the unexpected hits and stared at me, eyes widening for a moment as he saw the chaos. He turned back to his opponent, squaring himself as black smoke began billowing from his nose.

The dark type tried circling around, only just flinching back fast enough to avoid a Flame Burst fired right where he would've been. The Nuzleaf scowled for a moment, rushing straight toward Pyralis.

He snorted and summoned up an Ancientpower from his own energy, the increased control letting him aim for the grass type's feet with ease.

Then it did a handspring and jumped above the Numel, throwing another volley of leaves that left my arms screeching in pain at the slightest motion. A shadow loomed over for a split second, leaving me wondering if this was the end.

A stream of bright yellow flames dissuaded me of the notion, but did nothing for the terror I felt in that split second, the leaves in his hand that had been _humming_ with energy still doing damage.

I tried to clutch my own arms, biting back a scream of pain as I let them curl back to where they were. Pyralis nudged me with his nose and stamped, taking deep whiffs as a pillar of black smoke began forming in the sky, right off above where Nuzleaf had been tossed. "Thanks Pyre, I owe ya one." I got really giddy as the weight of how much damage the team could do really just started to _hit_ me. "Hahah, just make sure to not burn down the whole bridge for me, ya hear? I don't think paying for the whole bridge is within our budget." The laughs kept bubbling up, though I made sure not to move my arms as the pain began to fade into the background.

 _This is fine, everything is just_ fine. _The team can very easily destroy one of Kanto's landmarks by accident as it handicaps their ability to fight off deadly opponents. What could be better?_ And with _that_ wonderfully sobering train of thought, I sighed and gave up, reaching down to his belt one more time.

Golett materialized and looked around, seeing the carnage behind me and leaning back. "Alright look, I know that we don't know each other very well yet, and we haven't been doing a whole lot of training yet, but things are bad and I need your help." I sighed and smiled bitterly. "I can't do anything right now, and I'm worried about the rest of the team. If you see one of them in trouble, can you help out with a Shadow Punch here and there? I know it's light out and they might not do much, but please."

I looked away, the high wearing off as the wounds began throbbing again. I huffed and shivered, the salty air doing nothing helpful for the slices all over. I heard a quiet thumping of footsteps, Golett slowly making his way over to Pyralis, Nuzleaf running circles around him to avoid the hits, lashing out with what looked like Leaf Blade every so often.

I heard a cry from above, Yanma's wet wing giving out and leaving the bug type to spiral down. I grimaced and shoved my left arm into the sweatshirt, heaving as the pain reared up like an angry Gyarados. I whipped the arm up and pressed the button, the lucky aim actually hitting Yanma and letting the bug type rest in stasis.

I rolled over to lay on my back, panting and curling my legs into a ball, the sticky squelching of blood reminding me that the leaf was still there. I whimpered, not ready to deal with this as nausea and dizziness began to set in. _Fuckin' shit, the worst case scenario here, what do I_ do?

I rolled my eyes at the shit I was putting the team through, berating myself both for thinking of this and not thinking of it sooner. "Yanma, do me a favor and c'mere, hide behind me and dry off your wings." A lopsided grin rolled to face the tired bug, eyes twinkling with mischief, I told him to go by the leg. May as well use any leftover energy from the downed one.

The rest of the battle went blurry, a faint buzzing the only noise left to register. I watched numbly as a green shape darted behind the brown blob that had to be Nuzleaf, the blob falling a moment later. _Huh, gotta give'm bug moves…_

A few blasts of water shot toward the Swanna, the flying type taking care to dodge the blurs. A tiny blip of green ramming into the water type's wing and leading to some kind of spiraling mess, the view obscured by smoke hanging in the air.

The next blast of water looked a bit smaller than the last ones, but was faster by a huge margin. The bullet of water slammed into the Swanna, the white menace's wing sticking up and twitching on the ground as the battle continued. I couldn't see where the poison duo had gone though, and if they were nowhere to be found-

A wet thump echoed from behind me, the unique crackle niggling at my mind as important. "Sk'r'pi?" The alarmed chirp from Arro made my heart sink. _Maybe Yanma will be over here to save me, it sounds tired if it had to drag itself up…_

A wet squelching sensation made itself known, my leg feeling lighter all of a sudden. _Huh?_

A shadowy punch stretched from in front of me, a loud smack and a thud behind me. _Why's i' so cold?_ A last cry from Sting made itself known, the ground type gliding out of the trees, as everything faded to black.

A pounding headache and a burning chest were the first things to register, itchiness coating my arms and legs a close second. My eyes burned like I'd pulled an all-nighter, arms feeling like they'd been sat on by a Snorlax.

I groaned, grimacing at the drool on the white pillow. I tried to reach up and wipe it off, the arm in question decidedly unhappy considering the pain and stiffness, but it was manageable.

My neck was stuck in place, plenty stiff as I glanced around the room, white walls, a curtain, and a white bed. _Oh joy, what could be better than a hospital…_ Memories of Ash lying in one of these beds flickered by before I quashed it down like old laundry.

A nurse walked in on my thunderous scowl, blinking and raising an eyebrow as I flinched back and became sheepish, hissing as I tried to scratch the back of my neck.

"Alright, kid, I'm ready to hear a good reason that your Pokemon were frantically dragging you here on the verge of bleeding out." _Scary…_

I shifted a bit, wincing as my _everything_ protested. "How are they doing? Are they all fine? Is Shellos hurt at all?" I was torn between genuine worry about Arro's trauma and distracting this nurse, but the earnest tone made her face soften a touch.

She sighed and gave up the scowl, hanging her head and pinching her nose before straightening up. "Your Pokemon are fine, they had minor injuries but are completely healed after two days of waiting for _you_ to wake up. The biggest worry for your team was your condition, they were stressed beyond belief, and our Mr. Mime told us your Gligar was mumbling 'not again.'" The glare was back, her eyes blazing in their sockets. "Care to explain _that?_ "

I shrunk down, a terrified grimace on my face. "Ahhh, and what happens, hypothetically, if I say no…?" _Oh god, I'm an idiot, shit, damn it, I'm dead now._

A deep sigh echoed in the room, "Then you'll be free to go once you've healed, I'm sure your team wants to see you. Just, do me a favor and stop leaving yourself in mortal danger. Your team obviously went through a lot, and that seems like a bad way of showing you care. Reminds me, stop cursing so much. Chansey was horrified at your Gligar's habits."

I shrunk back, thinking over choices from back at the cave and now, if there was anything else I could've done. "Wait, how long should it be until I've healed?"

She didn't even turn around, "Whenever that leg can hold your weight." _My leg?_

I steeled myself, taking a deep breath, pushing myself up with my elbows and sliding back into the pillow. If there was a small whimper, well no one was around to hear it, so did it really happen?

Done with gut clenching pain and waving off the dizziness, I could finally take a good look. There were darker marks around the places that Razor Leaf had struck, the skin almost wavy and slightly rubbery in texture. He glanced down.

 _Huh?_ The leg was just… not there.

The whole calf was just, hidden beneath the blanket. _Mmm, 'f course, lemme just check if I have any scars on here, gotta take stock of what to show off to Tesla, or Ash n' Gary, yeah, they'll appreciate scars. He, hehe…_

I scrambled forward, breathing ragged as arms screeched to quit, but I had to _know_ , to be _sure_.

The blanket was torn away from over the leg, a disturbing smile frozen on my face. _Again._

The lower part of the leg was twisted all the way around, my eyes drawn to each valley and curve among the mountainous peaks. The toes wiggled, the foot actually facing forward now that I checked. _Huh, wonder what they'll think of this for a story._

I actually laughed imagining their reactions, their worry and excitement during storytelling. _Maybe I should do that for a while, might be nice to see good reactions. For once._ I laughed again, feeling my eyes go blurry as I flopped back onto the pillow, cheek wet. _Eh?_ Why… why was the pillow wet?

Hobbling around was a pain.

The crutches helped, but they were tall and awkward and pressed into my armpits, forcing the shoulder blades back, leaving them pressing against each other _constantly_.

'Least I could leave the hospital. "So, who wants to walk with me? We'll be going slow for the next, well the next while. A long while." Sting, Arro, and Skorupi all either raised a claw or chirped, Pyralis glanced at them and shook his head, Golett shrunk back and Yanma buzzed excitedly. "Better idea, who wants to be with who in a rotation? I think two at a time would be good, I can't keep an eye on four of you guys at once though."

Leaning on the crutch like an armrest, my mind checking out as it drifted toward what pairs would be best in a double battle among the team. _Could HP Ice those, but Scald would be steam, no that could be_ good _actually, I like that…_

Sharp pain and a clenched jaw, " _FUCK!_ " The whole team paused, the mild buzz of chirps, hisses, and grunts cut like a bush as I clutched my leg and rocked back and forth. They rushed over, crowding around in an effort that was appreciated, but didn't really help when Pyralis' normally comforting warmth began to burn like a sea of lava on the leg. I could barely hiss through the pain, "Pyralis, do me a favor, turn down the heat for a sec? Leg is burning."

He drooped his shoulders and stepped back, Arro rushing forward to fire off a tiny jet of water on the bright red mess. "Yanma, Hidden Power for me? Just a light one if you can." The bug type obliged, hovering barely a foot over the leg as the water ever so slowly crystallized, the sudden chill still a welcome change.

Finally calm enough to _not_ freak out and screech only thirty yards from the hospital I'd begged to leave, I could only thank Arro and Yanma before turning to Pyralis. "I didn't mean anything by it, this is just something we'll have to get through. Besides, if you can control those flames, I bet you can increase the potency of your new Flamethrower, maybe even get a white hot Fire Blast going, y'know? 'Sides, I should be the one worrying about you guys, not the other way around." Sting and Arro both puffed up, looking ready to start a fight over how many things could- _had gone_ -wrong, but I beat 'em to it. "Now look, I might not be a great trainer, but even _I_ know that it's a trainer's job to look out for their Pokemon. I haven't been doing that very well, and it's time to change that." A confident grin stretched my face, an image far better than what I felt.

I shoved myself up, wobbling as Sting lifted up the cane for me, a sheepish grin on my face. "Alright, now who's paired with who here?" Sting and Arro sidled over to each other, Yanma landing on top of Skorupi as the bug types chittered back and forth.

A softer smile and a shake of my head later, we were on the road again. I hobbled along, Arro glancing longingly into the water as she slid ahead, Sting following via gliding between the trees across the water. I asked if she wanted another dip, but she kept refusing, running up ahead and glancing back as she looked into the water again.

It went on for a good three hours, my right leg burning from holding most of the weight, a hand shoved between my armpit and the _stupid_ crutch to keep from any more skin being scraped raw, and seeing where the battle happened I called for a break. Sting came gliding over, Arro chirping something to him as he nodded and clambered up into my lap, a content rumble coming from him as I rubbed around his ears in the spots his claws had trouble reaching.

"Hey Sting," He hummed, obviously curious. "Do you think I'm right in doing this? Not as my friend, or as my Pokemon, or even as my starter. As the living, breathing, cheeky little brat that you are, objectively, do you think what we're doing is right?" My face crumpled like a wet tissue as I glanced at my hand, lost in the lines. "I've raised Arro to face her fears, unintentionally stunting her growth by sheltering her, and I've raised Pyralis to be able to throw around white-hot flames that can destroy this whole bridge effortlessly within a month and a half. If we continue at this rate, or even if we slow down like the teachers always said, we'll be _monsters_ by the time the league rolls around, but is it _right_ to do this?" I choked on the lump in my throat, the weight of what the title of 'Pokemon' abbreviated a haunting reminder.

Loathing welled up, Sting's hesitant expression as damning as any faux angry rant, a strained reference, or platitudes about being book-smart. A bitter smile surfaced as thoughts of how they must be doing led to chuckling and outright belting laughter to rival the old man when he got drunk on 3 bottles at once.

Sting looked on in concern, but I waved him off after calming down. "It's nothing, just remembering the trio. C'mon, we have to catch up to 'em sometime, y'know?" A quick moment of shoving against the ground again, and we were off. Arro caught up and I recalled the duo for some resting, the bug types up for now.

It was a fairly uneventful trip, the stupid leg constantly itching with how many chemicals got shoved into the appendage, such soft bandages very definitely _not_ helping. Skorupi turned around to see what the issue was a few times, my scowl lessening and waving him off every time. _Just a bit longer, we need to get at least halfway._ The determination from that same mantra was the only thing keeping me from falling over like a leaf caught in some dragon's Hurricane, the storm falling apart as each step lead to more labored breathing.

We reached the scorch marks and dozens of grass types repairing the bridge, a few flinching away as they saw Skorupi. Wheezing by now, I waved the two back. "Guys, how about we stop for a break here?" Yanma buzzed around the grass types, watching them dry out every strand until the bridge was that familiar yellow, fresh logs floating underneath. I waved Skorupi over again, his familiar scuttle a small comfort.

A tired sigh escaped before I frowned. "Skorupi, were you paying attention when I asked that question to Sting?" He nodded his head slowly, face already twisting into a pose where he huffed, "Alright, so what do you think? _Is_ it right?" Skorupi's hissing laughter seemed out of place, a look of concern appearing as I made to ask what was wrong.

He hissed angrily and turned on a dime, flaring up his tail and baring his fangs. I shrunk back instinctively, realizing his point the second a smug smirk filled his face. "So, you're saying that everyone sees Pokemon as monsters already, so even if I _didn't_ make you guys stronger, it wouldn't change anything?"

Skorupi sat there for a moment, putting a claw to his chin as if trying to figure out what else to say. Eventually, he just shook his head and chittered something, a few Pokeballs rattling in response. He slowly walked away, hanging his head.

 _Damn hobbling, sucks worse than getting Dragonite drool dumped on me._ I was a _li~ttle_ bit touchy as we started training for the day, Arro working on Earth Power with Pyralis, Sting and Skorupi swapping a few base moves and Yanma working with Golett on precision strikes with his choice of Shadow Punch or Shadow Ball.

Pyralis had the power advantage against Arro, but her strikes were just plowing through his for whatever reason, an outcome that Pyralis wasn't taking kindly to. He shot a gout of flame from his back as he positively growled, waiting on Arro's response as he glared. She puffed up and chirped something of her own, the rest of the team throwing glances and stiffening up.

I massaged my temples as the two began another dance, Arro's attacks functionally useless against Pyralis' constant HP Grass. I closed my eyes and began the count to ten, beginning to calm down from the ridiculousness. _Then I was drenched in freezing water._ My eyes snapped open as they kept going, the fight escalating as Arro whipped out her unfinished Ice Beam to try and counter the Hidden Power.

I stalked over there, completely ignoring the throbbing in my leg as I reached up and lifted Arro up to look me in the eyes, a tiny hint of pity that was _ruthlessly_ snuffed out as her expression flickered from indignant, scared, confused, and settling on a bit guilty. Pyralis snorted before I leveled a glare that rivaled when we'd first met as he looked away and took a step back. "Now that I have your _attention_ , how about you quit this and tell me what the _hell_ just happened out of the blue to make the both of you so upset." Pyralis snorted and Arro snapped at him, a hand coming to rub my brow as I decided to just be _done_ with their shit.

I took a deep breath to avoid wrapping Arro around Pyralis' neck and see who would lose the temperature war, but that would just be pointless. "Arro, do me a favor, use Mud Bomb on my hand, lightly if you could." She obliged, confused and giving a shrug. The mud was water and plenty sticky, perfect for what I needed. "Okay, now Pyralis, when I put this on your head, I want you to cook it on and leave it, mm'k?" He also obliged, delighting in Arro's squirming, until he wasn't.

Arro was cooked to his head by her own mud and his heat. "Good, now you two will _stay_ there for the night, and if you two aren't in the same position by morning, then you will _both_ be sitting outside in the rain and sunlight, and seeing as it's fall, they _will_ both happen. Got it?" They both turned up their noses as Pyralis turned left and Arro tried to turn right, more squabbling as they continued.

I huffed and turned back, tripping and grunting as I bit back a half dozen curses. "Ahh, Sting? Skorupi? Help me up real quick?" They obliged, one on either side as they held up the crutches, that familiar itch building to a breaking point. I scowled, sick of dealing with the _stupidest_ part about damaging a limb. I flopped back onto the ground, expression livid at having to deal with this so many times, it hadn't even been a full week! Reaching into his bag, he touched one of the pockets that were bigger on the inside(that stupid teacher had such a grin on his face every time he said that), gripping one of Skorupi's old claws.

 _Ahhh_ … the relief was near immediate, the dead skin sticking to the claw like a clingy little seed-pod off trees. I flicked it off and reached for the crutches, the itchy sensation _finally_ gone. Again. _And of course, it'll be back again._ With _that_ wonderful tidbit on my mind, it was time to get moving before something else crept up to spoil the mood. I stretched for the crutch on the right, twisting around a few different ways before pressing against the good leg and shoving, wobbling, and hopping over, sticking out the twisted leg for balance as I reached down.

A sudden annoyed cacophony reached my ears, the golden light of Earth Powers going off being a bit of a _bad_ sign considering who I just paired up. _Shit, she's in the worst position I could've-_ A white light interrupted anything else I could've thought, nearly falling back as I squinted and fought the urge to block it out with my hands lest the crutches fall, _again_.

Within a moment, the glow faded, leaving eyes to slowly trail up Arroyo's new form. Her _evolved_ form. "That's it?" Genuine confusion and surprise were the only two things on my mind as I blurted it out, quickly backing up as Pyralis shot a glare from underneath Arroyo.

Snickering built up behind me, my own light chuckling blowing into full on belting laughter as what just happened hit.

Then I got sprayed with enough water to knock me over. Sputtering, I looked over at Arro, who was just as wide eyed as I felt in my right eye, hair sticking to my face and covering the left. And then the grins terrified the team.

"Oh Pyralis, would you like to test out her power now that she's evolved? Unless you're worried that your position has been taken from you as the strongest in raw power that is, perfectly understandable considering against her you have no _chance_ of overpowering her attacks at this point." I finished with a shrug, pushing my arms and shuffling around to face to the other team members as a golden crack appeared a good foot to my right. "Oh? So you're going to beat her right now?" He snorted and raised his head high, staring her down as both slowly backed away a few feet.

I paled and dragged myself up, hopping away faster than a Buneary between the Swords of Justice, almost tripping again as I hopped backward. This was too good to miss.

It kicked off with Pyralis firing a Flame Burst at her mouth, the responding Water Pulse nigh instantly splattering everywhere, obscuring her vision for the briefest moment.

He didn't waste it, one of his strongest uses of Earth Power yet charging before the shot was even released. The glow was nearly blinding by now, the crack widening before he even stamped down to fire it, but when he let it go, it shot toward Arro faster than Sting in Onslaught, the ground itself crunching into shards at his attack.

That Arro effortlessly stopped with her own Earth Power. The battle froze for a moment, the only thing on anyone's face shock as we registered what just happened. _She_ overpowered _his hit? HUH!?_

Arro grinned viciously as she realized her chance, her often playful attitude buried under a seething hunger for _revenge_.

Pyralis didn't stand a chance in _hell_ against the blasts of Hydro Pump that flashed toward the fire type, lancing out before he could even compose himself, out cold after the third pierced straight into him.

The rest of us stood slack jawed at her raw power, even as it hit me that her creating lances out of _Hydro Pump_ was something she'd come up with all her own. _Pff, guess now they're motivated if nothing else._ A savage grin began growing as I shook my head, shaking with repressed laughter "You guys up for some tougher training?"

 **A/N**

 **Ah, so, if you guys enjoy this one… I'm** _ **going**_ **to phrase this poorly but I guess that's fine, I'm not going to be writing for a while, so these 'consistent' updates are probably going to slow, college is kickin' my ass and Calc is a pain to deal with when I'm** _ **ahead**_ **in the class, so take that as you will. Before you guys ask, I** _ **will**_ **be making callbacks on these characters, so don't worry too much about disappearances yet.  
Hopefully you guys enjoy, review to tell me what I can do better, yeah?**

 **Please?**

 **Later.**


	11. An update, of sorts

**Okay, so this is just kinda gonna be here for a few days, I'll delete this once I've actually spent some time writing the next chap, but this one's kinda just a message.**

 **To (this morning's) [Guest]** , Thank you.  
No seriously, thanks, but I think I'll stick to this one for now, it's been growing on me, and if I leave my first story, I'm honestly a little worried I'll give up whenever the writing gets tough. It's for a bit of practice and for fun, but thank you for the honesty, I need it. Besides, even with 73k words, we're not even a quarter of the way through the story, so… give it some time, if you'd like sorry if it isn't quite to your tastes, but it does get darker and much, much harder for Testa if you appreciate that, so keep it in mind that he doesn't simply get his way.

 **Small side note: If I disappear from this story for more than six months, I honestly don't care how you pull it off, I do in fact wish for you guys to kick my ass into gear, if 'I' don't make a single response… ah, assume this is a dead fic at that point. In other news, I'm a self deprecating ass who takes too much joy from reviews on a 'side project,' as well as occasionally moody as shit and dEprESsEd (if you couldn't tell from after the Cerulean gym, lol), but I know full well that you guys are here for the story, not my dramatic bullshit, but yeah I think you guys should know that if I disappear, this story isn't coming back really. Or any story by me, but that's not the point. Funnily enough you recommend that [Guest], I've also started writing a… different story a bit ago, which, with college, really isn't working out, so I'll probably stick with AGV (mostly) for now.**

 **To those of whom that followed the story( _ADDicting, Annie9987, Braviary27, Linkskingsolomon, Luxray-Vision, ruthelesstruth15, The Trainer of Legend, thefox311, To Broach Or To Put up,_ and _WarsOfShadows_ ); In order: 1)Sorry, 2)thank you, and 3)... hopefully you guys enjoy this somehow, I just like to make stupidly broken combos. And broken characters, heh.**

 **In particular, to _ADDicting, brtnvm, The Trainer of Legend, WarsOfShadows, WyldClaw_ , and the [Guests] who reviewed, thank you, sincerely, I didn't respond to the reviews because… well, 'cuz I'm a jackass if I'm being honest, kinda just wanted to apologize to you guys for that.**

 **But the phrase is show don't tell,** **write? In that case…**

 **To _brtnvm_ :** Imma be honest, he sorta started off as a twisted version of myself, which is one reason why chapter one has such out-of-place words that a 10 year old would never use, and ah, sorry about the recent chapter lengths, I figure they might feel shorter, 'cuz, well, they are, I've been slipping but I'll try to work harder on that.

 **To _ADDicting_** : Y'know, I appreciate you the most of any of my reviewers, not just because you gave encouragement, but because you were the first follower of the story AND you left two reviews, so SERIOUSLY, thanks.

 **To _The Trainer of Legend_** : _Yeah_! I love seeing Drapion and Gliscor too, Drap just feels underappreciated *cough totally not in my first playthrough of HG either,* and Gliscor is just great, especially for being broken, heh. Sorry about Split, I kinda just wanted to have an effect similar to another series, an inner monologue if you will, and even if it doesn't work out I feel he fits with Testa's… shall we say, interesting past. Also: THANK YOU SO MUCH for the linebreak thing, the formatting wasn't working and now I fixed it and it's probably my favorite tool, some scenes just don't flow too well without it, so thanks.

 **To _WarsOfShadows_** : Thanks, I aim to write well. Hopefully you're not bored just yet, things are quite literally about to heat up, hehehehehehe… Uh, I feel like I've said that a few times, but this time for sure.

 **To _WyldClaw_** : Thank you, I'm glad you think so. I'll be keeping the main spirit of the chapter when I update it, I'll be keeping most of it tbh, but thanks for telling me.

 **To [Guests]** : All right, well, I'm glad you guys enjoyed the story enough to review, and the feedback on chapter length is appreciated more than you know, stage fright without a stage or a way to cure it sucks, but you helped, thank you.

All of these reviews brightened my day, each and every one, and I'm glad I could entertain you guys, if only by how broken-ly OP the combos are.

As an extra for reading through this far, and for putting up with my BS, each of you guys can ask one question about AGV and I'll answer, probably in PM, but I'll answer three guest questions if they're in the reviews.

Note: The formatting may be done incorrectly, but if it is... fuck it, I'm not going back to change this a fourth time. Later guys, Chapter one oughta _actually_ be updated/revised in the next few weeks at the latest, but I really do appreciate making you guys a good story.  
That and having ideas for absolutely broken combos are why I still _live_ , hope you guys enjoy it.


	12. Chapter 11

The mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks already making my bones ache at the thought of trudging through the mud, slipping and falling too much, _yet_ _again_ , even if there _would_ be some extra help…

I sighed and looked again at how far we had to go, the next twenty minutes of walking ahead of us like looking at the last problem on a test, sure it was right there but _damn_ was it tiring. I could hear Yanma buzzing circles around Skorupi, the duo both practicing Agility and racing every which way. Hopefully Yanma would remember not to drag the poison type in front of me again, but it was worth the risk to see Skorupi actually _having fun._

Outside of showing Sting things that the flying type wasn't as good at, but that was more competitive spirit than real fun. Arro's combos were going better than expected, but Rain Dance was proving more difficult to learn than expected. With the potential gains though…

Yeah that was a must-learn move. Pyralis was the closest to following in Arro's footsteps, being _more_ aggressive and gaining a lot more power in his moves for now, as well as his nearly developing Energy Ball from sheer determination and HP Grass. The madman. Camerupt couldn't even normally _learn_ Energy Ball!

He was still a _little_ upset that Arro overpowered his attacks with ease. Skorupi flashed by, weaving around my crutches in a show of dexterity as Yanma buzzed around, stopping on a dime whenever and wherever she pleased. A soft smile cropped up despite the exasperation tickling at the back of my mind, just letting them do their thing as long as I didn't fall.

Again.

The white washed rooms were still just as annoying to see, to _smell_ , after nearly two weeks of trudging from Lavender to Fuschia. At least the nurses were a bit nicer, but Nurse Emilia had a stern frown on her face as she unwrapped the leg, the remnants of piles of dead skin a giveaway that I hadn't listened.

"Now look here, Testa." I jolted at hearing my name, belatedly realizing that she had probably read my file, "I'm fine with you scratching your leg, everyone complains about that part with a cast, but you _need_ to keep most of your weight off of it. I can tell that you've fallen from the swelling, you're lucky that you didn't break the bone again." She glanced at her sheet and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "That said," she said slowly, "Doctor Anderson recommended that if there were no broken bones when you got here, then you would get a boot to _gently_ walk on. You should still be very careful, and you should keep using the crutches, but you'd have to pay to keep them any longer." She shifted and frowned, staring as she held up her pen to mark down my response.

I frowned, thinking about how well the team would take it if I broke the leg again, or if it got infected. I shivered at the thought, shaking my head as I opened my mouth and snapped it shut before hesitantly glancing up at her kind smile, a bit of guilt stabbing me for doing this. "I think I'll pass, but thank you." I offered an apologetic smile, the look on her face telling that she wanted to say something else, but she just shook her head and noted it on the paper, waving goodbye as she walked out.

Shaking off any semblance of guilt, I hopped out of the exam room and headed into the lobby to wait and see how everyone else was holding up, especially Arro after her ridiculous power-up, I was worried Pyralis' heat might have done something to her new body as it evolved and changed shape several times over within only seconds.

The guilt was back already.

"That one looks like it sucks kid, what'd you do to piss off the docs this time?" I whipped around, searching for who would be calling me out so casually, nothing good I was su-oh.

A lazy smirk crossed my face, eyes dancing with a touch of mischief. "Oh I fought an Ursaring, it was such a _ferocious_ battle, I'm surprised Lance himself didn't come down to see the prowess shown in the fight." I rolled my eyes, seeing the sharp smile on his face as he was about to give his own snarky commentary. "So what are you here for?"

"Aww, I can't just be visiting my favorite little pet project to see how you are?" His lazy grin belied the wolfish ferocity in his eyes. "Alright, we _do_ have a job for you, up in the mountains." His tone grew sharp as he quit slouching and put a hand to his face, the thin figure doing nothing reassure me that he wasn't as dangerous as any wild Pokemon. "We need you to capture as many Rhyhorn as you can, preferably those close to evolution, though any you can find will be appreciated."

He slouched again, slowly winding back down to his relaxed facade. "We'll have some reimbursements after the mission, but we can't really be having any people join without proving themselves. Oh, and here's a pokegear so we can keep in contact with you, or if you need us to bail you out sometime. Just give a ring and I'll be on the way if you need, got it?"

I nodded and internally snickered, we could truly test Arro's new strength!

This was gonna be so _easy._

I walked into the store, glancing around and walking to the far corner as I thought about buying anything else, the weather wasn't looking too great based on the news, but that would leave the Rhyhorn holed up in a little cave and make getting that many easier. _Decisions, decisions…_ _Screw it._ I picked a cloak off the rack and hobbled over to the machine with Pokeballs, clicking and holding the button until I was satisfied.

No way in _hell_ that this was going to be a failure just 'cause I ran out of Pokeballs. Or cash, for that matter. _Hopefully I'm gettin some pay for this…_

I shuffled over to the counter, gripping the paper receipt that had surely sprung up on her register by now. She stared at the register, glancing back from the counter to the bag in my hands with narrowed eyes. "Are you s~ure?"

I kept my face blank as I called up the practiced phrase, "I simply want to be prepared, there's no telling how long it may be if something happens, or if I just forget to hop by the next store."

She leaned back and threw up her hands, muttering under her breath as she rung up the Pokeballs. "Have fun with 200, weirdo. God, they _do_ exist, math why did I ever doubt your wisdom, your warnings?"

I craned around to stare at her with a bemused smile until she realized I was staring, turning as red as Gary did in our arguments.

Suddenly the smile was gone as I jolted out of memory lane, murmuring an apology as I felt the new cloak flutter behind me.

It was too cold with no one there to laugh with.

The wet ground was so stupidly muddy and clutched any who stepped into it like a Machoke, it all of a sudden made sense how these places could be called mountains _and_ marshlands within walking distance. At least Arroyo could enjoy it, she was flowing through each patch of muddy liquid like she was made of the stuff with Acid Armor.

 _There!_ "Arro, time to spice things up. Absorb a few of those puddles real quick?" The ground type happily obliged, three puddles nigh instantly disappearing as her form become a bit bloated and unclear. I grinned savagely and pointed towards the mouth of the cave up ahead, her own grin forming within seconds. She slid over, dry ground trailing behind her as she kept absorbing tiny bits more.

The near explosion of water was deafening, the rumbling of dozens of startled rock types running farther into the cave could probably be heard for miles. _Shit._

I scrambled up from the ledge below, rushing in and throwing Pokeballs at every Rhyhorn lying in the entryway, a few clicking noises behind me telling the tale before long, but I kept going deeper in, releasing Golett as the cave grew darker and Arro put time into gathering some water to reform the rest of her body.

A sudden roar and the rhythmic thumping of footsteps from the shadows had me jumping, gripping Pyralis' Pokeball like a lifeline-one of the Rhyhorn was charging from a nook behind us, the brain power it took to do so telling loud and clear that it was plenty close to evolution.

"Drain Punch." A snarl was carved into my voice, being forcibly reeled back as Golett walked a foot to the left of the rock type's path, shoving an arm shrouded in shadow _through_ the tough carapace, another roar sending minor tremors through the walls. _We should get out of here before they surround us or someone comes to check…_ "Golett, Arro, we're heading back."

Another roar echoed from farther in, the deeper, rougher tone sending off warning bells. _Shit, now is really not the time for this._ The snarl came back without restraint as I looked back at Arro, her form just now coming back into a coherent form instead of a random, sludgy mess. I didn't even register the flash as Pyralis appeared, his ears twitching before he focused forward.

The Rhydon finally drew itself up to its full height and roared a challenge, the cave shaking like a leaf. "Pyralis, Earth Power into Hidden Power until it goes down. Aim for the legs and be careful of the tail." I turned around and recalled Arro, the grinding roar telling that Pyralis was doing just fine.

Then the roar got louder, Pyralis let out a _whimper_ , and his prone form slammed into the ground in front of me. "Golett, Hammer Arm!"

I whipped around, gripping Yanma's Pokeball and hesitating, because if she got hit even _once_ by that behemoth's arms-The roar of frustration snapped me out of it, a chunk of the rock type's armor just _gone_ as Golett was holding his ground, his shadow-coated arm holding up the Rhydon bearing down on him.

 _Fuck it_. "Yanma, Hidden Power its legs then Giga Drain!" The bug type obliged, freezing the Rhydon's legs and glowing with a forest green light, the cave rumbling as Rhydon smashed the ice around its legs with a Hammer Arm, turning toward Yanma with murderous fury in its eyes.

I recalled her before the Rhydon could reach her, and the rock type turned to follow the red light.

A crooked smile flit over my face as Golett got in another good hit from behind the behemoth, the _monster_ still standing despite breathing hard and taking so many hits.

A last charge with a drill spiraling angrily straight at me led to my getting ready to leap to the side.

Before I made the jump, the rock type spread both arms wide to catch any dodging as it ducked its body down.

Dozens of small cracks filled with an eerie golden light appeared in front of the charging Pokemon before the cracks connected and collapsed under the weight.

Pyralis huffed and shakily walked over to the pit, dropping a bright Flame Burst down the hole and taking a look, nodding his head in satisfaction before hobbling back toward the entrance. I recalled and thanked him before doing the same with Golett, thanking the team and walking back in. I threw one last Pokeball into the pit, thanking all that was holy when the ball shrunk and sprang back to my hand after the Rhydon was caught.

I thought for a moment about keeping the Rhydon for myself. The bastardous rock types may be enormously powerful and have amazing defenses, but what good was that when any poison type _ever_ could simply use Toxic and play the runaway game? Maybe they could use Earthquake to flush out poison types, but what about Crobat or Gengar, two of the most common poison types ever? You didn't even have to _be_ a poison type to use Toxic, it was simply more effective. No, members of the Rhyhorn line were powerful, but they were too one dimensional for my tastes.

I let Arro back out to play in the rain, her form quickly coming back to that familiar blue and green.

No one should suspect anything more than a bit of training.

The gym struck an unimposing figure, the simple yet elegant sloped roof leaving plenty of room for the fabled ninja to stand on, yet whenever I looked none appeared.

"Slice it with Iron Tail!"

The place seemed _too_ peaceful, and there wasn't even a receptionist at the desk.

Sting was trapped, but I'd be _damned_ if I let him go down without a fight.

A whisper of cloth against itself had me whipping around, Pokeball in hand-

But there was nothing there.

The Ariados was scuttling closer, the webs still nigh invisible even when I knew what to look for.

It was already glowing with the power of Swords Dance.

He was so damned _close_ all he needed was another second-

"And what would you be here for, Testa? A simple gym battle, perhaps?" I jumped half a foot at the voice, the sickly amused tone doing nothing to comfort me as he stared with steel in his eyes.

 _Fuck it!_ "Screw subtlety! Iron Body!" Sting's cheeky grin flashed even as it didn't quite reach his eyes, his whole body taking a silvery hue, the webs groaning and snapping at his new weight. The quick swipe of X-Scissor creating sparks as Sting readied his own attack.

Our grins were wider than a Banette's by now.

I schooled my features, taking a breath and reasoning it out. _He doesn't know, no one was there, and this is just a scare tac-_ "I know that you were in that cave with the Rhyhorn, _boy._ "

The seemingly endless slashes came at Sting from all directions at once, Ariados' flailing legs leaving no room for a counter attack, even despite Iron Body, and while it increased his defenses, it was still almost as tiring as Onslaught with how much weight he had to add and maintain.

I froze, a strained smile on my face an instant later. "What do you mean? I was just training and catching another ground type for my team."

His eyes danced with poisonous amusement. "Then explain the ten Rhyhorn that also went missing, are you planning to follow your father's failed ambition?"

A white-hot flame erupted within me.

The anger flared again as I snarled at the gym leader's smirk. "Use your tail into Immoveable Offensive."

And I was sick of Koga's _shit._

My eyes blazed like he was a grunt from Mt. Moon. "You don't know me, and I'm sure as all _hell_ not my old man, now are we going to have a battle or not?"

His face broke out in a smile. "I thought you'd never ask, it'll be four on four," he made a motion for me to release a Pokemon, my anger getting the best of me as I released Sting.

Sting obliged, whipping around to deflect strikes with his wings and slap Ariados away. He stood stock still for a moment, his grin back in business.

His smile grew wider as Sting was caught in a web, stringing up his form as an Ariados appeared from on top of a roof. "And, one more thing, _boy._ " I turned to face him, a snarl caught between fury and fear twisting my expression. "If you lose, I will _personally_ tell the league about this."

The washed out the anger like a cold bucket of water.

Sting flickered forward, still visible even with his recent improvement with Agility.

Too bad Ariados wasn't ready for it.

The bug stepped away and only lost a rear leg for its troubles instead of most of the abdomen, the inhuman screech making me flinch and making Sting fall down, gripping his ears as his metal body visibly _vibrated_ in tune.

The screeching didn't stop, and Sting got up with the fury of Pyralis in his eyes.

The poor Ariados didn't realize that _maybe_ continued screeching in the (literal) face of a pissed off Gligar was a **very** _bad idea._

Sting clamped the bug's mouth closed and whipped it over his head, slamming it into the ground, and repeating the process.

The bug's innards began leaking out as I watched, stunned at the display.

I glanced at Koga to apologize, but he only looked contemplative. _But that's-_ "STING! It's just a substitute!" He made no indication of hearing, just continuing to beat the everloving _hell_ out of the body in front of him. Iron Body wore off, and Sting held himself up to keep going, but he began to fall from exhaustion.

I returned him a moment later, eyes blankly staring at the Pokeball.

"And now do you see, boy? Do you see what you'v-"

"Shut up." I was roiling with every emotion imaginable, the thick lump in my throat doing nothing to help the horrified chill creeping up my spine, nor the blazing heat of unquenchable fire.

I stared him in the eyes and snarled again, a Pokeball popping open from my belt even as I seethed.

 _Who the hell would even bother?_ No one _would want to be out right now-_

Unless your name was Pyralis.

The fire type stomped in anticipation and snorted, giving a smug glance back. I shook my head, huffing at his attitude before sobering up. "Time to give 'em hell, start us off with a little Flame Burst, this Ariados likes to hide behind traps. Watch for Poison attacks, you know the drill."

The fire type took a deep breath, shaking himself off as he looked around for his target. "To the left, on the roof. It knows substitute, so don't lose focus."

A fireball burst around the wall the Ariados had ducked behind, another screech putting a small smile on my face. "Again, and light up the webs while you're at it."

Koga watched the flames climb up the strings impassively, recalling Ariados after there was no return fire. Wordlessly, he released a Crobat.

The two Pokemon stared for a moment, the flying type darting away as Pyralis simply kept a ring of 3 stones glowing with Ancientpower floating around him.

The Crobat began circling, flickering all around the battlefield as it went, a few bright white Air Slashes here and there slicing into the rock.

The purple blur darted inward, nicking Pyralis hard enough to draw a bit of blood from his left flank, a rock crashing down a second too late to clip the speed demon.

My eyes narrowed, seeing exactly how this would play out if things went on. "Flame Burst into Flame Charge."

The burst of flame sent Crobat scrambling to the other side of the courtyard, above and behind Pyralis. Flames erupted from the ground around him just before Crobat could strike, the hiss of seared meat and a frantic flapping the only indications that anything happened at all.

The flames from Corona suddenly swirled, the whirlpool being sucked into Pyralis' back and amplifying the natural feedback loop of nearly all fire types. Koga was silent and still.

My grin was apocalyptic as Pyralis shook himself off again, magma glowing like a cherry. "Lava Plume." The burst of flames was tilted toward Crobat's side of the field, but I still felt like my leg was burning again, and the unfortunate poison type had no escape with such burns.

The charred smell sent shivers down my spine even as my resolve to get this shit _done_ hardened, Koga's knowing, _pitying_ look mocking me more than words ever could.

He released a Skuntank, the stench making me hold my nose closed and still almost gag. It kept getting stronger, the dark type making no obviously threatening moves. I choked out the order that would save Pyralis from guaranteed loss. "Burn the poison."

The stench of the fumes made it so much _worse_ and I sat on the ground to avoid dying, both figuratively _and_ literally, considering the way Koga felt about me right now.

Pyralis didn't seem to care, all the air around him shimmering with heat, almost 6 inches in every direction. Even the ground was glowing.

I smirked as he snorted, obviously waiting for someone to make a move. "Bombard it with Flame Burst, it can't dodge everything." The shimmering intensified as Koga's eyes narrowed, the man sliding his foot across the ground. _Of course he does._

The scowl was back, my eyes boring into the gym leader with all the heat of the fire type in front of me. "Pyralis, he has non-verbal signals, be ready for anything."

The Skuntank ran in a circle and became blurry, copies appearing all around Pyralis, and all charging up dark type attack. A few were taken care of by Flame Burst exploding and passing through them, but the rest were still a problem.

Pyralis grinned, already charging up for what the next order would be. "Lava Plume," The shit-eating grin was audible, only growing wider as the air around Pyralis began to shimmer even more wildly. "And turn it up to eleven."

I ducked behind a wall just before the entire courtyard was suddenly engulfed, the yellowish-white flames licking at everything in sight. The roaring flames kept going, eating up the grass near the edges of the field and sending up black smoke, but there were no screams or screeching in pain.

A quiet rumbling was the only warning before Pyralis roared and a golden light shone brilliantly, both him and the Skuntank being blown back toward their trainer.

The Earth Power had knocked out the poison type, Pyralis forcing himself back up onto his feet. _It must've been using Dig then. Damn. What else will he try to pull?_

I lifted his Pokeball and hesitated, jaw clenching even as I knew what he'd say. "You wanna take a rest?" Pyralis snorted, digging in his heels and starting up another Flame Charge.

A Muk appeared on the field, Koga giving a raised eyebrow. "Sludge Bomb, Rock Slide, Envelop."

 _Envelop? What the hell is that? Eugh, is this what it's like to hear 'Corona?'_ I grimaced, the moves the poison type was using able to cover most of what Pyralis could do. "Pour it all into a Flamethrower, Ancientpower as a shield into Earth Power."

A yellow jet of flame flew toward the Muk, the Sludge Bomb hissing and fizzling out as it came into contact with the heat, but stopping most of the attack before it could hit. Muk groaned for a moment as maybe a tenth of it bubbled and fizzed, but the Rock Slide still appeared over Pyralis.

A few stones coated in a purple glow appeared above Pyralis, the boulders slamming into the smaller rocks and chipping them, but the makeshift barrier worked, only a few smaller chunks slipping through, even as the rocks fell, Pyralis grabbed those with Ancientpower and used them to repair the shield.

Pyralis suddenly jerked to one side and cried out, the rocks falling where he had been even as the fire type was being pulled to the Muk, a tendril wrapped around all four legs and dragged ever closer to the poison type.

Fear flashed through me as the Muk lifted its entire body up above Pyralis, ready to _envelop_ him. I fumbled with the Pokeball, the red beam shooting out and bouncing off of Muk's form.

The fear became a coiling regret in my gut as Muk _didn't get up_ , I looked to Koga, and his apathetic frown did nothing to comfort me. "Hey, alright, I'm trying to recall him, alright? Please? This is just a gym battle right? Muk doing this, this could _kill_ him!"

The gym leader's eyes narrowed. "And you've nearly burned Crobat beyond chance of a healthy recovery and suspiciously captured a dozen Rhyhorn, even denying the action when questioned, within _my_ territory. Do you think your Numel will even survive anyway after how wild and uncontrolled it is, after you're brought in for questioning?"

My fists balled up, the coiling dread suddenly lighter as I stopped to think about what he'd said.

The laugh echoing around the courtyard was weird, it was, oddly high pitched for Koga, and-oh. _That's me, I guess. Laughing even as Pyralis dies from underneath a Muk._ The smile was back, clenched teeth biting into my cheek and stretching my face muscles.

Koga merely stood there, watching. Waiting.

 _Dumbass_.

I looked him in the eyes, hand on my belt even as his eyes widened. Arro, Yanma, and Skorupi appeared, all glancing around questioningly, a frown coming over Arro's face as she saw my expression. "Stop this guy from escaping at all costs."

Koga cursed, disappearing from my sight as the smile became another snarl. "Agility. Arro-" Before I could finish, a white glow came from underneath Muk, the poison type gurgling in pain as he was lifted up, the glowing brighter than any flame.

Pyralis roared his fury to the world, letting off a disgustingly bright Earth Power at the half-boiled Muk, said Poison type being knocked out with a single hit.

The snarl lessened, a feral smirk replacing it as I looked over the fire type. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Camerupt." He smirked back, pawing the ground even as his body was coated in purple goo.

I scoffed and shook my head at his eagerness, "I'll let you out in a bit, get some rest for now, crazy bastard." He went back without any fuss, thankfully, and then we were sitting there, waiting.

Skorupi reappeared frantic, waving his claws back and forth with constant chittering, and a bitter look on his face. My mask may as well have been carved from stone at the news. "Skorupi, scout around and see if anyone follows us from the shadows." Another white flash, not one of us flinching. "Golett, help Skorupi out and run interference against Koga when you can, but above all else, don't get caught."

I nodded to the team, recalling Arro and Yanma. "I'll walk to the edge of the city and wait, you two slow down Koga spreading the news, and then head back toward the mountains. Good luck." I pulled the cloak closer to myself, thinking back on what the hell I'd gotten myself into.

I stopped walking for a moment, feeling the cold wind tear through the cloak with ease. _Guess this counts._ I slipped into an alley behind a house, pulling the thing out of my pocket.

The thing buzzed a few times, finally clicking as his voice crackled from wherever the hell he was at the moment. "Hey, Archer. Yeah, I finished the mission, but I'm gonna need some help with the aftermath on this. Koga's information network is gonna be a bitch to deal with."

 _Fuck, I-what the hell do I even_ do _now? I'm gonna be a fucking_ criminal _and that means I can't go to Pokemon Centers, I can't battle gyms, I-FUCK!_ I was grabbing my knees, curled up between the city walls and some bushes off to the side of the path.

Things weren't looking up.

A chitter and a tap on my leg had me tensing, gripping Sting's Pokeball as a comfort, arm tensing to aim-Skorupi stood there, stock still with his claws and tail pressed to the ground.

I gave a bitter smile, shame welling up at being scared of one of my oldest Pokemon on the journey. "I'm sorry, Skorupi, I'm just worried and I didn't-" I shook my head taking a shuddering breath. "This is my fault, but I'm going to fix it, and you're still going to be strong as all hell, y'hear me?"

My expression brightened up a bit, the grin a bit tamer than usual, but still there. "Once you evolve, your only weakness will be ground type attacks. Do you know how you can overcome the _hell_ out of that weakness?" His tail came up, his head tilted to the side in obvious interest. My grin grew evil. "We go over every weak point you have against ground types and come up with solutions, since this team is pretty much all ground types, and we'll be getting a few more in any case."

Skorupi chittered excitedly, the two of us waiting for Golett as I explained a few ideas I had for techniques in the future.

The shadows turned purple for a moment, Golett appearing and the portal-thing closing behind him, the ghost flopping down on his face. "Gollet? You okay there?" He slapped the ground, slowly forcing himself up. "No no no no no, wait, wait, we need to conserve our strength, and after my mistake that isn't going to be easy, so rest for now." I recalled the ground type, fighting the urge to call Golett a 'him,' the Pokemon being genderless was still sort of messing with my head.

I shivered as the wind gusted, a chill running up my spine. I raised an eyebrow at Skorupi, holding up his Pokeball. "You wanna stay out or go in?" The bug type just shook his head, walking up toward the mountains.

At least it wasn't raining.

 _I wish it was raining._ Without weather holding them back, trainers were swarming the area, and at this point I still wasn't sure if the news had gotten out to the general public.

"Hey, you! Quit hiding!" I froze at the high voice, cringing at both the pitch and being caught _fuck they probably know and I bet he saw me and now I'm dead oh great how could this day get any-no way in HELL I'm finishing that sentence I'm not jynxing this sh-_ "You good man?" _Here goes nothin' I guess._

I fumbled and pulled back my hood, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm, I'm fine, why do you ask?" I added a scratch on the back of my neck for effect, hoping beyond hope that these guys had been out here and were heading towards Fuschia.

He brightened up instantly, his messy blond hair flopping up and down against his winter jacket as he imperiously pointed and shouted, "'Cause I'm challenging you to a battle!" He grinned like the sun, and since it would look suspicious as all hell with the people around, I gestured for him to start with a smirk.

The blond whooped, causing a few people to stare, and the ones behind him started walking toward us. _Shit, fuck, jus' time to play dumb, no way I can fight all of 'em, and with this fuckin' leg I can't escape, DAMN!_ I barely registered that the kid had released a Growlithe, I let Arro out without a second thought.

A determined look passed over the kid's face, all business now. "Growlithe, Snarl into Crunch!" He even knew that Snarl could disrupt special attacks? I raised an eyebrow at the kid's next order though, he seemed to think that Arro wouldn't have any way to deal with him up close.

I held back a scoff and kept it cool, arrogance would garner a loss every time. "Acid Armor, V2." Arro chirped and a clear film coated her, the water type simply firing off a few lazy Water Pulses to herd the fire type into attacking. When the fire type was in range, it lunged and went straight for Arro's throat.

The poor dog instead of landing on Arro's back, and instead of tearing into her neck, it simply bounced and stuck to his jaw, trapping him within Arro's gelatinous body. The dog started to whimper as the poison set in, dying his fur purple as he began to sink further, like quicksand. "Growlithe! No!" _At least we know that the armor is thick enough to stop weak piercing attacks._

The blond's fists curled before I faked a yawn. "You know you _can_ recall him, it's just a loss for you." My lazy, blank stare seemed to annoy him.

The kid grumbled as he recalled his Pokemon, pointing a finger at me again. "You only won because you had the type advantage! I call a rematch!" I rolled my eyes, gesturing for him to go on. _This brat doesn't know when to give up, does he?_

A Roselia appeared, the bright flowers not even letting out a subtle Poison Powder. Brat didn't know what he was missing out on, Koga would kick his ass if he didn't recognize traps at all. "Energy Ball until it's down!" The poison type replied faithfully, charging for a moment before releasing a flurry of green orbs.

It was a better try at least. "Acid Armor into Ice Beam." The lazy Water Pulses were always useful, and no one seemed to realize that with Gastrodon being almost entirely made of water, they could quite easily slip from puddle to puddle, even _before_ Acid Armor.

The Roselia realized where Arro was going to go before the blond did, turning around to aim at a puddle before Arro could hop out and aim. "Roselia, what are you _doing_?" The boy cried out, Roselia's apparent attempts not good enough as Arro hopped into a different puddle after waiting out the Energy Ball.

I turned toward the kid, his frustrated gaze now locked onto Roselia as she kept _barely_ missing the mark. "That Energy Ball would've hit Arro if not for her waiting, I think your Pokemon might be a bit ahead of you in strategy."

The kid snapped, nostrils flaring as he pointed a finger. Again. "You're _cheating!_ This isn't fair, and Roselia can't even aim to hit a damned tree! I call BULLSHIT!" My gaze went from the closest I'd gotten to sympathetic in a long time to dead even, my short height doing nothing to stop the glare from reaching its full effect.

"If you wanted to have a battle, that's fine. If you want to whine about losing, no one will like you, but that's your problem. But I swear to _fuck_ ," The glare became a snarl with all the savagery Sting had shown against the Ariados, "If you keep yelling about your Pokemon being too _weak_ , while you obviously don't understand _ANYTHING_ about what you're facing, I will hunt your ass down and beat you senseless _myself_ , fucked up leg or not."

The people around us started murmuring, the damn annoying little _shits_ doing nothing. The kid drew himself up, grabbing at his belt as he released the rest of his team, a Kadabra, a Dratini, a Haunter, and a Machoke. "And what are you gonna do about _this_ , huh shorty?"

I started shaking, coughing even as I doubled over. "What's wrong, you soulless brat, finally break down crying at being sorry you made me mad?" His smirk was audible, but- _but_!

I couldn't hold it back anymore, the giggles starting, and evolving into laughing so hard that it hurt my stomach after a short time. The blond just stood there, recoiling in disgust. "What's your problem? Are you crazy or something?"

I snickered and pulled the laughter back, releasing Pyralis, the crazy bastard back up to speed after a day's rest burning away the poison. I grinned wildly at the ground type, gesturing to him as I spoke. "If you want to see some _real_ bullshit, I bet he could take on your whole team right now, that little Roselia included."

The kid looked between me and the Camerupt a few times, his face twisting in discomfort as the air grew hotter and hotter. The warmth was noticeable, and I loosened the cloak and sighed. _This is the best_. "Bullshit! I'll take you up on that, but don't cry when your Camerupt is black and blue!"

I just snickered again and let Pyralis do his thing, my face darkening back to being serious as a thought occurred. "Before we do this, I wanna recommend that you recall your Roselia, they could actually die here if you're not careful, and Pyralis just evolved yesterday, so he might have some trouble regulating things."

The kid looked at Roselia, the grass type shifting closer to him before he nudged it back toward the rest of his team with his boot. "You're just scared that this many on one will kick your ass."

I sighed and shook my head, wondering where all the sane people in this world had gone. I glanced bitterly at the crowd, 4 other people just standing around and watching the show. _Can't even leave. Whelp, his loss, and I'm already a criminal, soo… Might as well have some fun with it._

A smug smirk crossed my face, the mask shifting into a cackling trickster. "Guess we'll be able to let loose for once, eh Pyralis? Maybe use a whole ten percent?" The ground type snuffed and pawed the ground, any water left from Arro drying up around him, a wind created by his mere presence. Internally, my grin faded as I got ready to start the madness. "Corona, Earth Power then Meteor Shower."

The kid's orders, the bystanders, the discomforting terrain, they were all ignored, his high voice becoming mere squeaking as the enemy spread out to surround Pyralis. Earth Power streaked out towards the Machoke and the Haunter, the latter floating away, but the fighting type tanking the hit.

I snorted as it collapsed to one knee, singed and breathing hard. Imbuing his attack with latent fire energy was working _perfectly_. There was some screech from the kid, but I didn't care. Kadabra and Haunter would be the problems, especially if they both knew Psychic, since they could redirect the Meteor Shower before it even broke apart. "Change of plans, Rupture, focus Kadabra and Haunter with Flame Burst and Earth Power."

Pyralis stamped his foot down, golden light spilling out of the cracks like water from a cup as they arced toward the two ranged attackers, double the speed of the last volley. Haunter wasn't able to dodge in time, the ghost hissing as part of its form dissolved and floated freely. It held its hands over the portion, slowly reforming the body.

Too bad Pyralis didn't wait.

Kadabra saw the heat building up and tried to push the fire back to Pyralis, but it simply bounced off the fire type, another Flame Burst at the ready, flying through the air before Kadabra could react.

The ghost burst into smoke, the gas still hovering in the air. I grinned at the scenario beginning to repeat itself. "Burn the poison." A lazy yellow Flamethrower was there, lighting up the tree the gas had been floating behind, and breaking up the poison completely. _Poor widdle Haunter, he's gotta wait a few hours to reform. Wah Wah._

The burst of smoke from a few impacts against Pyralis' back was an admirable show of effort by the enemy team.

The Machoke had gotten back to its feet, lips peeled back in a snarl toward Pyralis. Roselia had a petal pointed toward the fire type, and Kadabra's eyes were glowing blue.

My eyes scanned around the area for a streak of blue, one that had probably taken the high ground- _There!_ My jaw clenched, the water type moves being saved for when Pyralis was 'distracted' so _obvious_ it felt insulting. "On top of the cliff to your left, Earth Power."

The fire type's grin grew savage, the stomp shaking the ground around him and disrupting the Machoke getting ready to charge. From his gleeful-yet-surprised look, I could tell it was intentional, but not expected.

The golden light however, now _that_ was simply some beautiful carnage. The entire ledge that the Dratini was standing on had collapsed, the edge where it broke smoothly as if it was cut with a knife. The high pitched _squeal_ of surprise let out by the little dragon was wonderfully soothing on my ears; it meant nothing was left to worry about, and that he could run free now.

The grin grew wider as I bit back more laughter. "Show them the meaning of the word wildfire, Pyralis."

He huffed, firing a lazy Flame Burst to scatter the trio that remained. The air began to shimmer above the humps on his back, a tangible heat really beginning to blanket the area. I allowed myself to giggle as I saw what he was doing, the crazy bastard getting ready to go all out.

The Flame Charge burst outward and around him in a small cone, being sucked back into his humps a moment later. Kadabra fired off a Psybeam, Roselia using Magical Leaf as Machoke used Bulk Up. _THAT's his win condition? Why didn't he use Magical Leaf against Arro?_

Pyralis fired off three Flame Bursts, the first at Kadabra, who teleported with a noticeable flash of light, one at Roselia, who dodged with a quick Magical Leaf platform for herself to ride on, and the last at the disoriented Kadabra, whose eyes grew wide as Pyralis prepped another for wherever it would go.

The psychic type blurred for a moment, Roselia appearing to take the empowered hit. I straightened up and shivered as I smelled burned flowers, the pitiful cry a whisper before Pyralis cut it off. He kept going after Kadabra with a renewed fury, shrugging off hits from the Machoke before the fighting type was blown back, the wave of flames bright white, tinged with blue.

I didn't care that he was pissed, I didn't care that Arro had put out the extra fires Pyralis has started, but the poor grass type… this was…

I crept closer, kneeling in front of the Pokemon's burnt form. I gingerly tried to poke at the leaves coating it, the edges badly singed, the entire body boiling hot to the touch. The ash surrounding the grass type probably meant that some of the impact was mitigated at the very last second by the platform, but…

I reached into my bag for some items, ready to pop a few potions if nothing e- "Hey dickwad, back off my damn grass type. I'm not letting you give her some shitty poison or something, she can heal herself with Synthesis or Giga Drain."

I froze in my tracks, playing it through my head once more. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. I'm pretty sure that you just said she can heal _herself._ I'm not sure you understand how that works, and you need to have a functioning leaf in order to cause the 'healing' of _photo_ -synthesis." I gestured at the blackened, singed leaves on Roselia, raising an eyebrow as he made a face.

The blond huffed and snatched the Pokeball off his belt, recalling Roselia, without even clicking the button. "You might wanna put her in stasis at the least though, she might die if you leave her like that." He whirled around on me, pointing the finger once again.

His face was bright red, sweating beading down his face as he got up in my face and snarled, his breath like a Grimer went and died in his throat. "Now listen _here_ ," He clenched the collar of my shirt and lifted me up, "I am going to deal with my Pokemon how _I_ want to, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm going to ignore your fuckin' bullshit for now, but if you want me to change my ways, how about you _make_ me."

My eyes bored into his, clutching my backpack with all my rage at his crap. I stared into his eyes, the rage clouding his vision hiding something behind it… a glimmer of something more primal. His sweat wasn't just from the heat, his pits were soaked, and yet his arms were dry as a desert.

I narrowed my eyes and let the grin flicker to the surface, the blond rolling his eyes, probably expecting some cheesy line about him being wrong, and how I'd change his mind. "Pyralis, gimme some help?"

The blond's blue eyes got smaller than pinpricks as his face went white as a sheet. He let go, dropping me to the ground and scuttling over to the cliff the other trainers decided to watch from, whispering and pointing a finger at me.

The dirt was dry at least. _What_ can _I do about him? What about all the other stories that the teacher told us, and the stats of almost 70% being like this…_ Shame built up in my chest, shame at being a trainer, just like that guy. Shame that Roselia, and all the Pokemon like her had to deal with trainers like that.

Then it hit me. I _did_ have a way to make a change. "PYRALIS!" He stopped in his tracks, the Flamethrower dying just as Kadabra frantically threw up a weak Light Screen, barely even able to block the cooling remnants of his attack.

I held up a hand, walking over to the Kadabra, and looking the unnerved psychic type in the eyes. "You can understand me, right? You know what I'm saying?" The psychic type nodded, whiskers twitching. "Do you appreciate your trainer? Scratch that, do you like him as a person?" The psychic type hesitated, tilted its head to the side and glancing up to the cliff. I followed the gaze and found the blond pointing at me and mouthing 'KILL' as blatantly as possible.

I turned back to the Kadabra, my mouth a thin line by now. "Hop into my mind real quick. I won't resist as long as you don't pull any shenanigans, just look into my mind and tell me if you'd really, truly _mind_." The Pokemon's lips twitched up at that, closing its eyes as they began to glow blue.

I closed my own just as a–a– _thing_ brushed up against my mind, and it began to gently pry. I opened the gate, the presence sifting through what was on top of my mind. It was… weird, to say the least. A faint amusement echoed from the thing, a sudden fear popping up as I felt Split rising.

I shoved Split down, the presence already retreating, and got the hell out of mindscape before he got pissy. _**Fuck OFF, brat.**_ _You too ya bastard._

Kadabra looked me in the eyes, the Machoke muttering something as the psychic type nodded slowly. I nodded back, disgust beginning to well up in me. "Thank you, Kadabra. I'll see you around, but goodbye for now." A faint smile crossed my face, hoping for a better future for the Pokemon.

The smile dripped away like acid upon seeing the blond, angrily shouting profanities at his 'useless' Pokemon. I offhandedly recalled Arro and put her in stasis, fiddling with my belt as every ball went into stasis mode. I released Sting and Skorupi, my snarl barely hidden. _Again._ "I have a favor to ask, and seeing as you witnessed what I did when Pyralis got into that fight, I don't think you'll be too surprised at this one."

Skorupi tilted his head to the side, and Sting lifted up his nose. "Don't worry Sting, this isn't about brutalizing the Ariados again, we dealt with that about as much as we're going to." My face fell, a sigh escaping as I _knew_ I'd regret this later. "That favor… is to kill the blond, and take his Pokeballs." I avoided their gazes, staring up at the arrogant prick still shouting up there.

Two blurs streaked ahead from behind me, the crowd losing it as the 2 that had been staring at me cried out in warning. They released a Pidgeot, a Noctowl, and another Kadabra.

The two sliced into the Kadabra, the psychic type still standing, but focusing on something in front of itself that had to be its spoon.

I had a clear view as the blond was speared through the gut, his belt cut and dragged back to me as he frantically clutched at his chest, the other trainers whipped up into a frenzy.

I hung my head and gestured, the trainers too focused on coming up with a strategy to fight me to notice.

I hung my head as they screamed, even Pyralis looking disgusted.

At least the Pokeballs would be fine, they were designed to handle just about any elemental attacks possible.

 **A/N**

 **Yep. Yep. This is where things are going. I can already hear you asking; 'Hat, is this what you meant by '** _ **what could possibly go wrong?'**_

 **Not even** _ **CLOSE**_ **. Heh. (Also please vote on the poll about AGV updates)**

 **Let it be known that I am** _ **not**_ **a nice person to my poor characters, as you think you've just seen.  
I'd appreciate reviews if you enjoyed, later!**


End file.
